Rise of the Dark Brotherhood
by The Shadow Emperor
Summary: On another version of Planet Mobius from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, the Nocturnus Clan is released from the Twilight Cage, kicking off a whole new universe where Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and their friends are pitted against villains old and new, including Imperator Ix, Enerjak, Lien-Da, Gemerl, Dr. Finitevus, Black Doom, Dr. Eggman, and many more. Please R & R!
1. Chapter 1: The Proposition

Chapter 1: The Proposition

**Downunda, mysterious ruins near the Great Crater, several months ago**

Duck "Bill" Platypus stood alone outside a small scattering of aged ruins near the fabled Great Crater of Downunda, the rim of which rose over ten stories into the air. Little was known about the mysterious architectural remnants of an ancient society long since vanished, but they were usually attributed to the same individuals who created the Great Crater in an effort to save their homeland. As he waited, heart thumping in throat, for Dr. Eggman's air transport to arrive, Bill made a effort to shut out the storm of emotions inside his head by staring at the various half-eroded buildings nearby, pondering what they were for and why they were abandoned. The pain of having to betray his friends, the Downunda Freedom Fighters, had already begun to take its toll on his emotional well-being, but he wasn't about to show the doctor any weakness whatsoever. Far too much was at stake.

His purposeful distraction was not working, Bill realized, as he felt a single tear making its way down his face. _No...don't lose your composure now,_ he told himself, wiping the tear from his cheek. He noticed the shape of a red and gray blimp descending from up above, signaling the arrival of Dr. Eggman. _C'mon, get it together, Bill old boy. Just act obedient and respectful, like the perfect lackey, and it'll all be over soon enough._

The blimp, adorned with the insignia of the Eggman Empire, gradually made its way to a patch ground near the Great Crater, extending its landing gear and making a touchdown near the ruins as small puffs of dust rose around the landing gear. Bill felt his hands shaking as the vehicle's exit ramp opened and extended downward from the underside of the aircraft. Dr. Eggman, the supreme leader of the Empire, stepped out of the blimp and walked down the ramp, a broad smile on his face as he was no doubt overjoyed at the opportunity to enslave another big batch of Mobians.

Bill bowed to the obese dictator standing importantly in front of him. Dr. Eggman, for his part, was slightly suspicious about the platypus's sudden change in allegiance, but chose to ignore this suspicion. "Welcome to Downunda, sir! It pleases me that you were able to answer my summons so promptly," greeted Bill as he rose to his feet. "Might I show you around our little establishment here...?"

"_Nah_, that won't be necessary," said Eggman, looking at the back of his hand as if it were more fascinating than Bill himself. "I've already reviewed your request, and I'm happy to inform you that I accept your offer. You and your people will be inducted into my army, outfitted with brand-spanking-new cybernetic enhancements, given some spiffy new uniforms _and_be given the resources you need to conquer the entire continent in the name of the glorious Eggman Empire!" Eggman paused, strumming his great mustache as though he were forgetting something. "Oh yes, how silly of me; I seem to have forgotten one trivial detail. There's also the matter of all of you swearing your eternal and undying loyalty to the Eggman Empire," added the doctor.

"Sir, help me restore my people to power, and you'll have my loyalty until the day I die," said the smiling Bill, and Eggman reached out and shook his hand even as he knew he wasn't the least bit sincere. "I will do whatever it takes, and that includes betraying my old buddies in the Downunda Freedom Fighters. Believe me, you won't regret this decision, doctor."

"I know I won't," replied Eggman, withdrawing his hand and gazing at the massive rim of the nearby crater. "Perhaps this Great Crater would make a suitable location for your chapter's base, hmm? Anyway, in precisely three days, I expect that you will have your people gathered and waiting in this exact location, at which time you will receive and install the mandatory cybernetic upgrades."

"Very well, sir," stated Bill, performing another polite bow in the presence of his new leader. "Is that all?"

Eggman nodded. "Indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go have a discussion with more future army leaders." Bill stood and walked away, and once he was out of sight behind the stone buildings of the ruins, nearly began crying over what he had done. _No, I won't break down now, not when everything's already been said and done. I had absolutely no choice,_ thought Bill, wiping away the first tears. _With me at the helm I can mismanage things enough to keep us from making any real progress. As much as it pains me to betray my mates in the Freedom Fighters...I'm doing the right thing in the long run. I_ know _I am._

Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman turned and began to enter his transport, when suddenly a shiny glint caught his eye from the stone ruins near a pile of rubble under a half-collapsed building. He blinked and squinted, and after a few seconds of examination deduced it to be a piece of metal or something-except metal really didn't belong in ancient stone ruins. He snapped his fingers, and two chubby orange Egg Pawns exited the entrance to the flying transport, metal clanking with every step taken.

"Sir," they announced simultaneously and in monotone, saluting with their thin segmented fingers as they made their way down the boarding ramp.

Eggman pointed to the pile of stone debris, at the metallic object almost completely buried under rocks. "There's something that caught my eye over there; it looks like just a piece of metal, but you never really know until you look. Go and dig out that little doohickey."

"Yes, sir," responded the Pawns, obeying immediately. They clunked over the the stones and began removing them with little effort. Dr. Eggman watched, wide-eyed beneath his tinted glasses, as his pawns unearthed a bizarre orange object from the rubble, covered in layer upon layer of dust. It was a robot, about the size of the average Mobian and apparently long-past useful, though it seemed to be undamaged. The robots delivered the odd machine to their master, who glanced over it, carefully examining its sleek metal body.

"Put that thing in the cargo hold," ordered the doctor, "as it just might prove useful to us." The Pawns did as they were told, but suddenly as they made their way up the ramp the robot began speaking. "Show...power...OR I sh...all ob...ey...Sha...ll conqu...r a...ll..." it sputtered, both of its cyan-colored eyes glowing briefly. "I sha...ll not...represent...and become...of all..." it continued before sputtering out completely.

The Pawn holding the robot looked up at Eggman, who was downright astounded. "How very intriguing," murmured the doctor, his words hardly doing the situation justice.


	2. Chapter 2: Disposal

Chapter 2: Disposal

**Angel Island, secret lab, several months ago**

The Brotherhood of Guardians, defenders of Angel Island, had made their last stand some time ago. When Dr. Eggman attacked the island with the intent of conquering and subjugating the airborne island, the Brotherhood and the Dark Legion had been all that stood in the mad doctor's way. Recruiting and weaponizing the oppressed Dingo Regime, the Eggman Empire attacked and in mere days had the entire island under its thumb, resulting in Knuckles the Echidna and his allies the Chaotix to flee and seek shelter in the Kingdom of Acorn. The Brotherhood fought valiantly to prevent the Master Emerald from falling into the wrong hands, and succeeded...only to wind up exhausted and unable to stop the Dark Legion technomage Dr. Finitevus from capturing them for use in his nefarious experiments.

Some time later, the doctor worked in seclusion in a hidden lab on Angel Island, far from prying eyes. His research unknown to all but the former Grandmaster Dimitri, he worked tirelessly to learn the secret of how the Mobian body was able to channel Chaos Energy, using the captured Brotherhood as his test subjects.

"Doctor, I sure hope this last "experiment" of yours gives us the information we seek," said the voice of the mechanical head named Dimitri, whose sole remaining body part was protected by a glass ball and resting on a counter near the working doctor. The head continued to stare at the scientist working before him who was in the midst of a final experiment on his subjects Sabre, Thunderhawk, Sojourner, Spectre, and Moritori Rex. Moritori technically wasn't a member of the Brotherhood but he had impersonated one for an extended period of time, and his proximity to the island's Chaos Emerald had eventually led to him gaining limited sensibility to the Chaos Force much like the Brotherhood themselves. Being able to channel Chaos like the others had made posing as Tobor a much easier task for Moritori, but unfortunately for him it had also piqued Finitevus' interest and resulted in his capture.

"Have faith, my dear Dimitri, for my research has had admirable results thus far. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten my promise to rebuild your body and restore the powers of Enerjak to you," explained Finitevus wickedly as he made another surgical incision into Sabre's flesh.

If Dimitri had been capable of doing so in his reduced state, he would have snorted. "_Bah_, I don't believe those are your intentions for a moment! And you've been studying these wrinkly old men for days on end; haven't you learned everything you need yet?" he asked urgently, bored and slightly disgusted from watching Finitevus' gruesome experiments.

They had been sickening, to say the least. _Truthfully, I'm surprised my sadistic albino friend here has managed to keep them alive and breathing. I don't think I've ever seen anyone bleed so much,_ shuddered Dimitri. _I had almost my entire body replaced by cybernetics before and even that experience didn't come close to what Finitevus is putting these guys through._

Five, ten, fifteen more minutes passed. Dimitri tried to look away the entire time and found it difficult due to sheer morbid curiosity, but retched every time he relented. It was a surprise when Finitevus finally stopped what he was doing and began closing up the surgical wounds on the echidnas' bodies. "My work here is done," announced the doctor, moving toward his computer to record the information he had written on a clipboard.

"Very well, set them free and let's be done with this disgusting nonsense!" shouted Dimitri angrily from his perch as Finitevus typed.

"'Set them free'? Excellent idea," mused Finitevus, flicking a Warp Ring off his wrist. With a smirk on his face, he watched as it floated and expanded in midair, revealing a portal to a zone composed of starry black space, with nebulous purple clouds and chunks of rock floating freely in the void.

Dimitri had never been to that particular pocket dimension before, but from the stories he had been told by Lien-Da he instinctively knew what it was. "Is that...the Twilight Zone? What are you doing, doctor? You said you'd let them go when you were done! And Moritori Rex is my _grandson_! You can't do this-!"

"I didn't specify where I would release them, did I?" Finitevus responded, roughly grabbing Thunderhawk and Sojourner by their dreadlocks and tossing them face-first into the zone, then doing the same for the other three echidnas. When the deed was done, the Warp Ring flew and took its place back on his wrist. He noted Dimitri's horrified expression. "_Oh_, don't worry your head about it, they'll be in good company in there."

The five echidnas, unconscious and battered, floated within the dark dimension. Had they been awake, perhaps they would have panicked, but fortunately for them, they were sheltered and protected within the confines of their own minds. But as Finitevus predicted, their presence didn't go unnoticed. They had been dropped off near a structure within the zone, a tall and black metal citadel, covered in strange machinery with cyan and orange lights. Some winged men, covered entirely in black armor, flew over to the five echidnas, grabbed them and returned to the depths of their fortress.


	3. Chapter 3: The Doctor's Question

Chapter 3: The Doctor's Question

**New Megaopolis, Dr. Eggman's lab, a few months ago**

The Eggman Empire was preparing for the ultimate invasion. Recovering from a string of defeats at the hands of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman worked to build up his robot army with the help of his chief lackey Snively. With his robot and airship factories producing weapons for his war machine around the clock, Eggman himself had retreated to his laboratory in order to construct new robots to throw at the Freedom Fighters. While he greatly preferred to be out in the field in an Egg Mobile, commanding legions of robots against the rodent and his pals, but he was willing to take a little break from getting his hands dirty if it meant rebuilding his army and amplifying his chances of destroying Sonic.

It was here in his lab that Eggman worked on fixing up the mysterious orange robot he had found in the Downunda ruins while recruiting Bill, which had seemed completely unresponsive to anything he tried after he found it. However, today he was in a jollier mood than usual and was willing to give it another shot.

"Turn it on, Snively," ordered Eggman, having succeeded in connecting the robot's power source with some power cables which ran the length of the room and were plugged into a console. His nephew flicked a switch on the console within the room, sending power straight into the robot's engine. "No, no! Turn it off! _Turn it off!_" he shouted as sparks began jumping from the robot.

"Why are you wasting your time with that rusted-over piece of junk?" questioned Snively after he shut off the power flow. "Seriously, uncle, at this rate you'll just end up breaking it and losing another toy."

"Shut your trap, you miserable twerp, and go get me a different screwdriver."

Snively sighed and obeyed, and once he delivered the tool he sat on a stool and watched his uncle continue to work on the robot, occasionally being called upon to fetch more tools for his master. Dr. Eggman spent many minutes feverishly tinkering with the machinery inside its outer chassis, a bizarre conglomeration of circuits and wiring that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. But Eggman always welcomed a challenge, and he had never failed to get a robot to work before. Every once in a while he found himself removing little chunks of debris as well as reconnecting wires that had been disconnected from years of disuse.

At long last he was satisfied with his work, and gave Snively the signal to turn the console back on. Power flowed into the robot and its blue eyes flickered on.

"Show... power... OR I sh...all ob...ey... Sha...ll conqu...r a...ll...I sha...ll not...represent...and become...of all..." it said in broken tones.

"Show you 'power'?" asked Dr. Eggman incredulously. "Why? I am your master, Dr. Ivo Robotnik! The greatest scientific genius in the world! I unearthed you and now you will obey me!"

The robot didn't respond. "Blast it all," spat Eggman. "The stupid thing can't even respond to basic commands! What kind of idiot builds a robot that doesn't follow orders?"

Snively carefully approached the angry tyrant. "U-uncle?"

"_What do you want, Snively?_ I'm _working_ here! Go make yourself useful and build some robots or something!" he roared.

"Yes, dearest uncle!" replied Snively, who dashed out of the room, his six hairs standing on end. Eggman continued tinkering with the again-unresponsive robot. _Blast this piece of garbage_, he thought furiously. At last, sick of the task of getting it to move or talk, he inserted a linking cable into the robot's machinery and downloading colossal realms of data to his secure mainframe. After several minutes of frantic uploading, the procedure was complete and he could study the robot's history, abilities, and purpose whenever he desired. But the robot itself refused to do anything but sit there on a table, glaring into space and unable (or unwilling) to listen to basic instructions. _Forget it, I have everything I need right here. I think I'll just use its information to make my own robots and throw the stupid thing away somewhere._

Eggman's eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the data. When he began reading the robot's oldest memory banks, he found the data to be heavily corrupted and near unsalvageable, and what he did see was what appeared to be written in another tongue. _No matter,_ he thought, _I'll just run a cross-reference_. He highlighted a small block of text and ran it through his database, and the first result that came up was a language known as Old Echidnaese. After a quick use of his computer's translator, Eggman began reading the damaged data in the modern-day Mobian language. A word continued to come up frequently-"Gizoid". The word had little meaning to the doctor, so ran it through his lexicon.

"G-I-Z-O-I-D", he typed, and clicked the search button. The result popped up immediately on his screen: _Gi-ZOID, noun. 1. Old Echidnaese term meaning "everything." 2. Code-name for a robot created some time ago by the Fourth Great Civilization, discovered by Prof. Gerald Robotnik in Soumerca ruins and researched aboard Space Colony ARK in Project: Shadow experiment. Unit was found to be unstable and violent and was sealed away._

_Could this be that same robot that my grandfather spoke of in his diary?_ wondered Eggman. His curiosity was piqued. If it was indeed a lost relic from his grandfather's past...then no doubt it was of immeasurable significance.


	4. Chapter 4: An Unexpected Discovery

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Discovery

**EggDome, corridors, a few days ago**

Dr. Eggman was now in hiding. The Iron Dominion had fallen and the Iron Queen's grip on the Eggman Empire's reins had been relinquished, meaning the time was ripe for the doctor to return and marshal his subordinates back to work and re-establish his power over the Dark Egg Legion. However, his greatest weapon was not yet complete, and his ground forces needed much rebuilding after Enerjak had razed the city. With his longtime minion Snively, he worked in secrecy deep in the lowest levels of his EggDome base, access to which had been completely sealed off to prevent Sonic and his Freedom Fighting posse from catching onto his plan.

Two of these Freedom Fighters, Princess Sally Acorn and Amy Rose, made their way through the abandoned upper levels of the EggDome, on yet another routine search to find the missing Dr. Eggman. For weeks they had gone through countless hallways and rooms, trying to find some clue of where the dictator and his army had gone, but so far had found nothing but a half-dead Dimitri, who they had brought to New Mobotropolis to recover. Eggman himself was far beneath them, watching the two girls via security footage as they continued their search in vain.

"Sir, I know you've sealed off everything, but every time they search this place it becomes more likely that they might find us," said a genuinely nervous Snively who was watching the security monitors along with his uncle. "And we've been communicating with the Grandmasters lately, so I wouldn't be surprised if they already have found a way to tap into our communications and trace them back here..."

"Absolutely not! I've hidden every last trace of anything here and all external communications are re-routed many times through my networks and are on a very secure frequency. There is no possibility that they will be able to detect us through _any_ means, so quit your frantic worrying!" spat Dr. Eggman.

"So you keep telling me, but unlike you, _I've_ learned not to underestimate our enemies," muttered Snively under his breath.

The Freedom Fighters above were oblivious, of course, to what was happening below their feet. As they walked through the hallways Sally held Nicole's handheld form held out in front of her, its antenna rotating. "Are you detecting anything, Nicole?" asked Amy for the hundredth time.

"Negative," responded the computer. "My sensors haven't picked up anything since we arrived."

Sally put a tired hand on her head. "Of course, we've searched this place a half-dozen times already. There's nothing here."

"Of course there isn't, my dear princess," said a smirking Eggman below, unheard by all except Snively.

They continued their exhaustive search through room after room. The place seemed completely barren and devoid of the tyrant's presence. They thoroughly searched everywhere, from the empty barracks of the Dark Egg Legion to the bedchambers of Eggman and Snively, from storage closets to the still-decorated throne room that had been used by the Iron Monarchs. At last, they made their way to one of the deepest locations within the base: Eggman's main robotics laboratory, where he had constructed machines such as the Egg Phoenix, Egg Tarantula, multiple Metal Sonics, and other robots. Machinery, tools, and parts of various robots were littered all over the floor. "Don't worry, Amy, this'll be our last stop before we leave. Nicole, are you detecting anything?" asked Sally.

"Scanning...nothing. Wait...hang on..." Nicole began beeping and vibrating. "Actually, there's a faint electronic signal coming from the storage boxes over in the corner," indicated the device. "But it's probably just a robot that was never turned off, so I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Sally shrugged. "Well, it's worth checking out. Amy, would you check those boxes, please?" she asked, pointing to the heap of boxes piled haphazardly in the corner. Amy ran over and opened a few, and found hardly anything but used robot parts. Then she discovered a large meter-long box behind the others. She attempted to pry open the lid, only to find it locked, but a simple hit from her Piko Piko Hammer was enough to smash it open. She lifted up the lid and uncovered an exotic orange robot about the size of a Mobian.

"Um...what is this thing?" wondered Amy.

Sally moved over to the box next to the mystified Amy. "I've never seen anything like it," she said curiously. "What is it, anyway? It sure doesn't look like one of Eggman's usual bots."

"Uncle? Are you sure you want them to be taking that? Perhaps we could send a few Legionnaires up there to intercept them-" began Snively.

Dr. Eggman sighed in exasperation. "Don't be such a dolt, Snively! I've already copied all of the Gizoid's data and designed duplicates that actually can _function._ We're not going to reveal ourselves now just for one useless little hunk of metal!"

Sally reached into the box and poked the unmoving Gizoid. It didn't respond at first, but then its cyan eyes lit up. "Show... power... OR I sh...all ob...ey... Sha...ll conqu...r a...ll..." it muttered. Dr. Eggman watched through his fish-eye lens security camera installed in his lab. _They aren't going to have any more luck with the blasted thing than I did,_ he told himself. Amy's hammer appeared in her hand, ready for self-defense in case the robot attacked as the it sat up in the box and turned its head, creaking as it did so. "I sha...ll not ...represent ...and become... of all..." it said.

"Um, what's it saying?" asked Amy slowly.

"I haven't the foggiest," replied Sally. "Let's see if I can't get it to respond. Hey, robot!" she called, waving her hand in front of its face.

"Show... power... OR I sh...all ob...ey... Sha...ll conqu...r a...ll..." repeated the Gizoid.

"I _think_ it's saying something about 'showing our power,'" Amy said. She held up her hammer. "Here goes nothing," she added before bringing her mallet down on a box of robot parts nearby, causing the parts to fly everywhere.

Sally ducked as a Metal Sonic head narrowly missed her. "Amy. _Have you lost your mind_?" she chastised.

"I sha...ll not ...represent ...and become... of all..." said the robot, as it stood up, climbed out of its box and followed Amy, who began backing away.

"Weird, but it seems pretty harmless. Let's take it back to Freedom HQ and examine it," suggested Sally. They left the lab, the girls cautious of the silent robot following them. Below, a dumbfounded Eggman punched his keyboard in frustration. How had they gotten the thing to work...?


	5. Chapter 5: Evil Plans

Chapter 5: Evil Plans

**Angel Island, Sandopolis Desert, yesterday**

In Angel Island's Sandopolis Desert, there was a scattering of Albionite ruins near the edge of the island. Similar structures found on Downunda near the Great Crater hinted that the ruins had been present before the island had been created, but no one knew for sure. The exact purpose of the Sandopolis ruins had long since been forgotten by most, but according to local legend gruesome experiments had taken place there, and as such they were generally considered taboo.

But not everyone adhered to these rules, not that it mattered anyway, as the Echidnas no longer made residence on the island. Within an underground chamber beneath a pyramid in these ruins, a cloaked figure was seated at a desk, typing notes on his computer. There was a small alcove to his left in which a warp ring opened, and a new figure stepped out, shielding his eyes as he was unaccustomed to the room's torchllight light. The typing man swiveled his chair to face his guest, dressed who was in full-body black armor with glowing blue decals on his forehead, muzzle, weapon, and shoes. "Welcome, friend. The Imperator sent you, I presume?"

"You presume correctly, sir. My master has accepted your generous donation, and we have begun working on implementing the tech into our own designs," said the dark figure. "We've been sealed off in the Twilight Cage for so many generations, we were beginning to think we'd never escape from our living nightmare. The abilities granted to us by the warp rings will make it possible for us to leave and breathe the fresh air of our homeworld once more."

"Good, good. Soon enough, with my assistance, you will be able to reclaim what you have lost over the years. I am pleased to hear that your leader chose to accept my gift," replied the man, "but perhaps you can assist me with something in return, considering my invaluable assistance in sharing the warp ring technology with you."

The guest looked his host straight in his piercing red and black eyes. Behind his mask, he smiled. "What kind of assistance do you have in mind? At the moment all our efforts are channeled into escaping our prison...but I suppose we'd be able to spare a few men," he said.

"I told your leader about my predicament with the Master Emerald, did I not?" inquired the man. "I need it to further my research, and so far my efforts at claiming it have been...insubstantial, I admit."

"I'll inform my lord about your desire," replied the black-suited figure. "But we need a source of power to get all of us out of there. The new technology will help individual men escape, but not the entire citadel."

The man rose from his computer chair. "Then we share a common goal, my ally. Help me steal the Emerald, and you can use its power to create a space-time opening large enough to move your fortress through," he proposed.

"...I will inform the higher-ups of your preposition," stated the figure. "Thank you for your business...Dr. Finitevus." The being stepped backward and reentered his warp ring, through which a swirling black and purple void was visible.

"A pleasure doing business, my friend," said Finitevus as his guest departed. _Things are working out quite smoothly...soon enough, the Master Emerald will finally be mine._


	6. Chapter 6: The Gizoid

Chapter 6: The Gizoid

**Outside New Mobotropolis, Freedom HQ, day**

Sonic the Hedgehog had been summoned to action multiple times over the past few days. First he and Sally Acorn had been invited to the Wolf Pack Nation in order to become honorary pack members, but found themselves caught up in a struggle between the wolves and a savage country known of cats as the Felidae. Organizing an uneasy peace between the two warring peoples, Sonic led them to the heart of the Felidae's lands which culminated in an all-out battle with the local Dark Egg Legion chapter, led by Grandmasters Drago Wolf and Razorklaw. Upon returning home, he was informed that the city had received an urgent request from the Arctic Freedom Fighters, who needed additional backup in order to free a local walrus herd from enslavement by another D.E.L. chapter, this time composed of sonar-equipped orcas. Sonic didn't hesitate to help out, and with Rotor Walrus and time-traveler Silver the Hedgehog, he succeeded in chasing freeing the herd and sending Grandmaster Ahklut's chapter packing. When Sonic to New Mobotropolis once again, a second request for help was sent by the Sand Blasters, a renegade group of Freedom Fighters, who needed assistance to fight off yet another D.E.L. chapter and take their base, the Oil Ocean Refinery. Bunnie D'Coolette accompanied him, and discovered that the leader of the chapter was none other than her long-lost uncle Beauregard Rabbot, and although she found herself torn she put her family loyalty aside and helped Sonic destroy the Oil Ocean Refinery, helping the Sand Blasters and protecting her uncle's chapter simultaneously.

Now, it was finally time to take a much-needed break from assisting Freedom Fighters. The fleet-footed blue blur sped across the continent of Northamer on his way home while Bunnie D'Coolette rocketed along at his side. Fresh from destroying Dr. Eggman's refinery, he and his partner were ready to relax after several days of adventure each. The pair finally slowed down after running across the landscape when they reached the familiar sight of the Great Forest and their team's headquarters, Freedom HQ, which was built into the side of a short cliff outside of New Mobotropolis.

"Gosh, Ah sho' am glad to see this place again, sugah-hog," said Bunnie, landing gracefully in front of Freedom HQ.

"Yeah, no kidding," replied Sonic, "I've been doing nothing answering duty calls the past week." He stretched his arms and yawned, pushing open the door to the headquarters. "You coming, Bunnie?" he inquired.

Bunnie shook her head and took to the skies again. "Nope, I'm off to go see mah husband, so if you'll excuse me..." she soared away, flying over to the nearby city of New Mobotropolis.

Sonic walked into the common area. Finding no one, he made his way into the lab, and his trademark grin was replaced by a look of surprise when he took note of Sally and Amy Rose hunched over an orange robot lying on a table in the center of the room, while the image of Nicole was on the room's main screen. Sally caught sight of Sonic immediately and ran over and hugged him while Amy looked daggers at her.

"Heya, Sal," said Sonic, hugging his girlfriend back. "What's with the robot?"

Nicole's image on the screen shrugged. "We're still trying to figure it out, actually. Sally and Amy discovered it deep in the EggDome when you were fighting whales in the Arctic. Although it seems to be one of Dr. Robotnik's creations, it seemed to take a liking to Amy and has been obeying her commands since."

"Really?" asked Sonic, confused. "Why'd it do that if it's an Eggman robot?"

"Show... power... OR I sh...all ob...ey... Sha...ll conqu...r a...ll..." sputtered the robot, looking at Sonic, who lifted an eyebrow. "I sha...ll not ...represent ...and become... of all..."

Sonic cautiously waved a hand. "Uh..._hey_ there, bud. What was that you were saying?"

"It hasn't said anything else," said Sally, who looked as confused as Sonic. "Nicole has been trying to interface with it, but for some reason it seems to block all attempts to access its data."

"Did you try hooking it up to one of Rotor's computers?" questioned Sonic, leaning against a table.

Sally nodded. "Yep, we tried, but it produced so much data that the hard drive crashed in the process. We've been studying the thing for a while now and so hardly anything has come of it...except for this. Amy, if you'd be so kind...?"

"Stand, Mr. Robot," commanded Amy. The robot obeyed immediately, sliding off the table and landing on its feet. "Walk." The robot stepped forward and walked several paces. "Stop." Again, the robot obeyed, ceasing all movement and staring blankly into space.

Sonic walked in front of the robot and gazed into its empty blue eyes, fascinated. "So why does it obey Amy? Does it listen to anyone else? Hey, robot, sit." It took no notice and continued glaring into space. "O-kay. What's the deal here? Sit!"

"For whatever reason, it only listens to Amy's commands," explained Nicole. "Remember when it said something about 'showing power'? Well, Amy took the initiative and smashed a box with her hammer back when they discovered it, after which it began obeying her-and only her. From what we can tell, it listens to those who demonstrate a power of some sort, and then only obeys the one with whom it formed a link."

"Hmm...it wants power?" inquired Sonic. "I'll show it power!" The blue hedgehog crouched down and morphed into a spinning blue ball, ricocheting through the room in a spin-dash. The girls ducked for cover as Sonic shot around the room in circles. The robot's head moved and it watched Sonic flying around again and again again. Its eyes glowed cyan, blinking several times, and after a few more spins Sonic uncurled and skidded to a stop in front of the robot. "How's that for power?" he asked cockily.

There was no response. The three Freedom Fighters in the room exchanged glances, then something completely unexpected happened. The robot crouched to the floor and began spinning in place like Sonic had. After building up enough juice, it shot straight out the door. Amy jumped aside with a scream as it bowled past her, flying out the entrance to the lab and blasting the door in the common room off its hinges, careening down the incline outside until it was a few dozen meters away. Then it turned around, squatted, and repeated the action, flying back into the room of shocked Freedom Fighters and stopping in front of the examination table.

"Did...did it just...?" asked Sally, amazed and at a loss for words.

"It copied Sonic's moves," observed Nicole, visibly impressed. "I've never seen anything like that!"

"Cool beans," said Sonic, punching the robot in the shoulder playfully. "It's almost as way-past-cool as me!" It wasn't much of a surprise when the robot's eyes blinked again and it punched back, knocking the hedgehog to the floor.

"_Man_, I really should've seen that coming," muttered Sonic, rubbing his arm while the girls in the room laughed. "Now it's stealing all my moves..."

Sally stared at the robot, amazed. "This sure is one unusual robot," she said. Everyone else agreed.


	7. Chapter 7: Eggman's Dilemma

Chapter 7: Eggman's Dilemma

**EggDome, lower levels, day**

Normally Dr. Eggman would be working on building up the EggDome's weapons, but this time there was something nagging away at him. After all the time and effort he had spent trying to get the robot to actually work, two infernal Freedom Fighters waltzed in as if they owned the place, figured out how to make the Gizoid work, and took it away! He steamed with silent rage, infuriated with himself that he had lacked the foresight to keep the robot well-hidden. _That is_ my _robot,_ Eggman told himself. _No Freedom Fighter is going to steal from me and get away with it!_

The workbench in front of him was lined with fourteen robots, all lined up side by side. They were being constructed one by one, but each possessed the exact same design-that of the Gizoid. Everything about them was identical to the original except for the gray metal plating and dim yellow eyes. They had been created using the information Eggman had extracted from the Gizoid's programming, but he without the actual robot itself he had been able to replicate the original exactly.

"Alright, the body shells are done," said Eggman to himself. "Now all I have to do is upload the core data and my latest robot series will be complete. And it's about time."

Snively walked into the room with a bored expression. "Uncle, I thought you said that you were done making badniks for now," asked Eggman's toady.

Eggman, whose face was sweaty from working for several hours straight, whirled around and threw a hammer into the wall. "Snively, you pea-brained _idiot_! This is a very delicate procedure! I need to be able to _concentrate_ if I'm to get anything done and I can't do that if you're going to come in here and distract me!"

"S-Sir, I was just...well, it's just that I thought you were going to finish the last of Lien-Da's surgery today," he said, twirling his index fingers innocently.

"Snively. I'm. Working. On. Something. Important. Here. I'll get to the Grandmaster when I get to her! Now GET OUT!" hollered Eggman, emphasis on every last syllable.

His nephew tripped over his own feet as he fled from the laboratory, squealing "yessir!" on his way out.

"Sheesh, what's an evil genius got to do for a few hours of peace and quiet?" muttered Eggman, returning to his work. In a few minutes he was finished plugging in the data uplink cables to each of the gray robots, meaning all he had to do at that point was to upload the Gizoid's core programming into their computers. The transfer took about ten minutes, and he passed the time by snacking on a sub sandwich. When the process was done, he pressed a series of buttons on his computer control panel, waking up the fourteen robots. They slid off the table and onto the ground, ready to take orders like the obedient little automatons thay were. _The best part about these things is that they, unlike the Gizoid, actually follow my orders!_ thought Eggman as he pranced in front of them.

"All right," he began, addressing his newest metallic minions, "you are the E-121 Phi series. A short time ago, your template-an ancient battle robot known as the Gizoid-was stolen right out from under my nose. Some of you may not return, but I'm counting on your numbers being enough to overwhelm the accursed thieves who stole my robot. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," droned the robots together.

"Good! Very good indeed. I've equipped your transport with a special radar that will home in on the Gizoid's unique energy signature, which at this point should be located somewhere around the city of New Mobotropolis. Move in, take down any accursed Freedom Fighters foolish enough to stand in your way, and recover the robot. I will _not_ accept failure of any kind, got it?" The brigade of badniks paraded out of the room, fully focused and intent on their mission.

Dr. Eggman watched the last of his minions leave, then marched out of the room on his way to the medical wing to finish Lien-Da's surgery. _I will have that robot back if it's the last thing I do,_ thought Eggman.


	8. Chapter 8: Kidnapped

Chapter 8: Kidnapped

**Angel Island, Shrine Isle, night**

A serene calmness had descended on Angel Island. The night sky was clear and filled with stars, crickets chirped, and leaves rustled gently in the crisp breeze. Down below, one could hear the soothing roars of the waves of the Downundan sea. It was a welcome moment of peace for Knuckles the Echidna and his teammates in the Chaotix: Julie-Su, Espio, Vector, Charmy and Saffron. Although two of their number were missing as Mighty and Ray were off to find Mighty's sister, the team was enjoying their extended break from fighting. On this particular evening the group was on shifts protecting the Master Emerald, and Knuckles was awake while the rest of them slept on the grass in front of the altar, upon which the giant green Master Emerald rested, keeping the floating island aloft.

He sat on the uppermost stair of the Emerald's shrine, eyes closed and deep in thought. Since being Enerjak he had been having nightmares after dark, but lately they had ceased. Julie-Su had taken it as a sign that he was finally accepting what had happened and no longer felt as much guilt over what he had been forced to do. At any rate the Guardian was pleased with the fact that he seemed to have found inner peace for the time being. _Looks like all that time Archimedes spent teaching me meditation has finally paid off,_ thought Knuckles. It gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Time passed, and the sky grew darker as the moon rose into the heavens. He was beginning to dose off when he spotted what appeared to be a faint flash of light out of the corner of his eye. "_Hmm?_" he mumbled, shaking himself awake. He squinted and saw more a couple more in the darkness, and quickly discerned their origin point as being across from the bridge to Shrine Isle. Cautiously he rose to his feet, but just as quickly as they had appeared, the lights vanished. Knuckles knew he should check it out-Dr. Finitevus was still at large, after all, and who knew what Eggman was doing. He leaped down the steps to the altar, careful to not disturb his friends as he made his way over to the bridge.

The pair of black-armored creatures that sneaked behind Knuckles moved in complete silence, careful not to so much as step on a twig. The Guardian was stepping onto the bridge when someone suddenly grabbed his arm, almost causing him to topple forward in surprise. He caught himself just in time and whirled around, throwing a punch in self-defense which connected with someone's face. However, he didn't see the second intruder, whose foot connected with his backside with a crack. He was sent flying into the altar where he slammed into the side, landing in a heap and briefly stunned. The sound of the impact from Knuckles's body hitting the stone was enough to wake the other Chaotix members.

"Yo, Knux, what's with all the ruckus?" asked Vector the Crocodile who stretched and yawned. Immediately afterward one of the two figures shot him in the back with a barrel-shaped weapon and the crocodile slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"_Knuckles!_" shouted Julie-Su, who immediately noticed her boyfriend lying in pain by the altar. She acted quickly, assessed the situation with her soldier's training, and drew her double-barreled gun from her belt and blasted the one of the intruders in the chest while more and more of the soldiers began popping into existence around the altar. The first black-armored figure fell to the ground with a grunt, and Julie-Su got a good look at him. She recognized him immediately and it was enough to make her gasp in surprise.

A ninja star whizzed through the air from behind her, and Julie-Su turned to find Espio the Chameleon wrestling with the other armored opponent, while Charmy and Saffron were already being subdued by the new batch of soldiers. She aimed her blaster and shot a few more intruders before diving to Knuckles's side as laser blasts rang around her. He was sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Knuckles! Are you all right?" cried Julie-Su, turning and blasting more of the men who were crowding around them, interested.

He stood shakily to his feet. "Yeah, I'm doing fine," he called back to her as he punched through the circle of soldiers surrounding them and dashed toward the men who had been attacking Espio. The chameleon had been knocked out, and the black intruders stood over his limp form, but barely had time to let out a shout before they were pummeled with a pair of spiky fists. Knuckles stood over his defeated enemies and admired his handiwork. The invaders weren't familiar to him. He heard a grunt directly behind him and turned to find the last of the soldiers falling to the ground, while Julie-Su stood over him holding her proton cannon. "I've got your back, hon," she said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Thanks for the save there, 'Su," thanked Knuckles, looking around. "Shoot, did they take out the Chaotix already?" he questioned, observing his four unconscious teammates lying amongst their defeated enemies.

"Knux, we've got a problem. A very big problem," warned Julie-Su ominously, "I think these guys-"

"Are no mere pushovers, foolish children," said a female voice belonging to one of the intruders. Knuckles and Julie-Su faced the newcomer who was stepping off the bridge, escorted by a two additional troops. Like the others who had attacked the altar, all had glowing cyan insignias on their foreheads, save for the commander, whose was purple. Knuckles moved to confront the woman, who stepped forward to battle the Guardian herself. "Leave him to me," she ordered, addressing her men.

Knuckles turned to his girlfriend. "I've got this, 'Su!" he told her confidently. In the split second afterward the armored woman did a spinning kick and knocked him on his rump. In the next second she grabbed him by the foot before he had had a chance to react and smashed him face-first into the dirt. He didn't stir.

Julie-Su shouted her boyfriend's name as a warp ring appeared by the three armored warriors. A terribly familiar echidna emerged from the Ring, bearing his trademark sinister grin.

"Good evening, my allies. I see you've already managed to best the Guardian and his toadies, an outcome that was never in doubt. Though, you seemed to have missed one," said Dr. Finitevus, pointing at Julie-Su. She had two options to choose from in the space of less than a second: stay, be outnumbered, and probably be defeated, or flee and get help-immediately. She chose the latter option and made a beeline for the back of the altar as shots flew around her, singing her fur. On her way she pulled out a golden warp ring from her vest pocket, and when the men ran around the altar to attack her, they saw the flash of a warp ring disappearing and nothing more.

"We...are sorry, ma'am," said one of the soldiers as he emerged from behind the altar, "she escaped."

Finitevus adjusted his glasses. "Not to worry, she's not much of a threat. With the Guardian incapacitated we have an excellent window of opportunity to steal the Master Emerald. Take the Guardian and his allies hostage; we'll have much use for them later." A warp ring flew off his wrist and opened in the air. "I'll contact you again when the time is right, Procurator. Give you master my regards."

"Very well, Doctor," replied the commander as the doctor stepped into his Ring and vanished. "Men, tie these guys up. We're taking them and that Emerald back to our base."


	9. Chapter 9: Questions

Chapter 9: Questions

**Unknown**

"_Urgh_...uh..." mumbled Knuckles, blinking stars out of his eyes. The first thing that the Guardian noticed was that he was affixed to wall with metal binders. He was obviously a prisoner somewhere, but it definitely wasn't a place he was familiar with. The chamber was dark chamber, eerie orange and blue lights and strange technology attached to walls, giving the place the appearance of a techo-lair of sorts. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud, tugging on his binders to no avail.

"You are our prisoner now," said a the voice of a woman. Although Knuckles couldn't see anyone in the shadows, he was able to discern a purple glow on the woman's forehead emanating from the blackness, along with an equally purple pair of eyes. Other than that he could only discern the faintest outline of her body. Though his last memories were a bit hazy, there was definitely a familiarity about the person. Yes...it was all coming back to him...she was the leader of the men he had fought on Shrine Isle!

He clenched his fists, rattling his shackles as he tried to pull himself off the wall. _"You,"_ he spat, his voice dripping with anger. "What have you done with my friends? Where happened to the Master Emerald? ANSWER ME, YOU-!"

"Quiet yourself, Guardian. Enough of the hollering, for it only serves to make me angrier," said the woman, stepping into the dim light so Knuckles could get a better look at her. She was clad in a black segmented full-body suit with round cuffs and purple-striped boots, complete with a helmet with a strange purple marking on the forehead. "One would think you'd have figured out by now that you are in no position to make demands, but then again, _thinking_ isn't something your kind ever excelled at. I don't have to answer to you, of course, but I suppose I might as well let in on the fact that your friends are safe...so long as they behave. And as for your precious Master Emerald, you needn't concern yourself with it. We have it under control."

Knuckles shook his binders with all his might, but the thick pieces of metal were too firmly bolted to the wall for him to remove. "Lady, if you know what's good for you, you'll release me and my friends immediately and give back the Master Emerald!" he threatened.

She sighed with exasperation. "You are quite the troublesome echidna, aren't you?" she mocked, pacing back and forth. "Our ally Dr. Finitevus warned us about you and your obnoxious streak-"

"FINITEVUS?" hollered Knuckles, spittle landing on his captor's mask. "That slime ball! I should've guessed...!"

She stopped walking and held up a silencing finger. "Don't interrupt me again. Understood? We are going to talk civilly here, or so help me I will make you regret it."

"I'm not telling you morons ANYTHING!" screeched Knuckles furiously. Veins pulsed on his arms and head and he was grinding his teeth. He shook his shackles violently, refusing to give up his attempt to break free. "I won't tell you even the barest minimum of anything, period! If anyone's going to give answers it's you! I want to know right now who you people are and why you are doing this to us!"

"You mean you don't know who we are?" asked the woman, almost surprised. "I'd anticipated our little organization would be more...well-known. But very well. I might as well enlighten you." She tapped the symbol on her head and her elaborate helmet shrunk down into merely headband, revealing her face. Knuckles looked at her and his jaw dropped.

"You...you...but...that's impossible..."


	10. Chapter 10: The Apocalypse Begins

Chapter 10: The Apocalypse Begins

**Outside New Mobotropolis, Freedom HQ, late night**

The Freedom Fighters slept soundly in their beds in Freedom HQ as lightning forked across the sky bringing with it the loud rumbling of thunder and the pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof. For most of them it had been a fairly exhausting week, despite the defeat of the Iron Dominion and the disappearance of Dr. Eggman. Little did they know that their troubles thus far had only been a subtle indication of what was yet to come.

Above the lawn outside a warp ring opened and Julie-Su dove out, landing and rolling on the dew-covered grass as her ring shrank just in time to prevent her dark attackers from following her. It was drizzling and the ground was quite muddy, but accumulating a bit of filth was the least of her worries. She brushed the wet dirt off her face and vest before pocketing her warp ring and sprinting to Freedom HQ as fast as she could run.

Inside the laboratory, in dim lighting, an insomniac Sally Acorn stared at the orange robot sitting on the examination table in the center of the room. After the incident with the robot imitating Sonic's spin dashing, everyone had been wondering how Eggman had crafted it. Little had transpired after began copying Sonic's moves except the fact that the Freedom Fighters had became ever more aware of the danger the robot could pose if it ever fell into the wrong hands. Additionally, it had belligerently refused to listen to Amy's orders anymore, something which not even Rotor or Nicole could explain. It had formed a link of some sort with Amy, then dropped it, and now had formed a brand new one with Sonic for some reason. There was just so much to ponder that the princess didn't know where to start.

The door to Freedom HQ flew open suddenly, causing Sally to jump and practically fell out of her chair as she spun around. She rose to her feet immediately and held her fists out, ready to fight. "Who's there? Answer me!" she shouted, heart fluttering.

"It's Julie-Su," said the guest. Sally's arms dropped to her sides when she recognized the mud-covered girl in front of her.

"Oh, you! I'm so sorry about that, you just startled me a bit. What happened to you?" asked Sally as she ran and grabbed a towel, handing it to her friend.

"I-It's K-Knuckles..." whispered Julie-Su. She accepted the towel and wiped the mud off herself.

Sally put a gentle hand on the Chaotic's shoulder. "It's all right, just take a breather and calm down. Now, what happened to Knuckles?"

"H-he...was...k-kidnapped..." Julie-Su managed to say through the tears. Behind them, the large screen lit up and displayed the face of Nicole.

"Sally? What's going on? I...heard yelling..." said the A.I. lynx. "Whoops, so sorry for the intrusion! I'll...I'll just leave you two alone now."

Sally held up a hand before the screen went blank. "It's okay, Nicole. Would you rouse Sonic for me? It seems like something bad has happened," she informed her grimly.

"Very well, Sally," said Nicole, and the screen went dark again. Julie-Su attempted to tell Sally what the matter was but was at an utter loss for words. She took a minute, took a few deep breaths and regained her composure before trying to talk to Sally again.

"It's K-Knuckles and the rest of the team...w-we were guarding the Master Emerald on S-Shrine Isle when we were awakened by a loud noise. I-It was Knuckles getting a-attacked by these guys in black...everything j-just went so fast, in seconds they had knocked Espio, Charmy, Saffron and Vector out, but Knuckles and I stopped the first wave...some more showed up led by _s-someone_ and she t-took down K-Knuckles and then Finitevus appeared and-and..."

"I understand," nodded Sally calmly. "I'll have Sonic on it right away-"

"Yo, Sal! Someone say my name?" called the yawning blue hedgehog stepping into the room. He noticed the tattered Julie-Su and his cocky attitude faded away. "Wait...'Su's here? What's going on?"

Sally turned to speak to Sonic, sparing Julie-Su (who began breaking down again) the agony of explaining everything. "Angel Island's been attacked by some unknown intruders led in part by that Dr. Finitevus. Knuckles and the others were captured, they probably took the Master Emerald, and only Julie-Su got away."

"Oh, shoot," muttered Sonic. "Here we go again. But hey, you can just send me over to Angel Island and I'll-"

But Julie-Su interrupted before he had a chance to finish his request. When she spoke it was darkly and forced, but calm. "It's too late, Sonic. The Master Emerald was stolen and Angel Island has already fallen, both literally and figuratively. These people...you do not want to face them. Please trust me on this one."

"Why? Do you know who or what they are?" questioned Sally.

"Vaguely," said Julie-Su. "When I was a part of the Dark Legion and we were imprisoned in the Twilight Zone, we were occasionally menaced by other creatures of the dimension. I distinctly recall several being alien races, but there were other Mobians as well. And not just any Mobians, but echidnas. Just like Knuckles and me, but far worse. They were a warlike caste of rogue scientists called the Marauders that had been sucked into the Zone as we had, but had been there far longer. They were led by a ferocious man who refused to honor any peace between the captives of the Zone, and we knew him only as the Imperator. Grandmaster Kragok always told us to steer clear of the them, and we did."

Sonic and Sally nodded, taking it all in. "Is there anything else you know about them?" questioned Sally.

"I saw a few in my time, and they wore black armor and lived in a massive floating fortress. As I said, they were extremely warlike and fought the others repeatedly, but we always managed to hold them off. I don't know where they came from, or why, but I believe that they are some sort of Albion or Echidnaopolis splinter group. I know a confrontation with them now is inevitable, but...they aren't people you want to trifle with," finished Julie-Su.

Sally's eyes were wide. "I...can't believe it. All this time, there was yet _another_ group of echidnas? These Marauders sound very dangerous. We'll have to be cautious if we're to mount a rescue mission."

"Actually...'Marauders' isn't their true title," said Julie-Su. "Their true name is the Nocturnus Clan."


	11. Chapter 11: Secrets of Nocturne

Chapter 11: Secrets of Nocturne

**Twilight Cage, Nocturne, holding cell**

"You...you're an..." stuttered Knuckles, who was finding himself at a loss for words. He was staring at the face face of a fellow echidna once more. She had pale orange fur, differently styled dreadlocks, a shorter muzzle and light fur markings, but otherwise was quite obviously one of his people. _But I thought we were extinct save for the Dark Egg Legion and those left in Albion!_ thought Knuckles, confused.

"Now that you know what I am, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Procurator Shade of the Nocturnus Clan, noble revolutionaries who were wrongfully imprisoned for our technological success. Perhaps you've heard legends of our people?"

Knuckles took several seconds to formulate a reply. "Er...no. Never heard of you once. But you guys kind of remind me of the Dark Legion...are you related to them?"

Shade suddenly looked visibly irritated. "_Absolutely n-!_ *ahem* er, that is to say, I cannot tell you anything about us unless the Imperator gives me clearance to do so. But all the same, remember that you are our prisoner. And we have much to discuss, Guardian Knuckles."

"What the heck do you want from me anyway?" asked Knuckles angrily. "But for the record, I'm not in the mood to do you any favors when I'm shackled to a wall."

"Dr. Finitevus warned us that you could be very dangerous and violent, so we tied you up as a precaution," informed Shade as if it were common procedure. "But I will release you from your binds if you tell us how to activate the Master Emerald. It's been...unresponsive to our methods. You see, to escape from the Twilight Cage, we need the energy from a powerful relic, and the Master Emerald is that relic. Please, for your own good, you must-"

"Okay, then how about this? I will refuse to help you or tell you anything of the Master Emerald, Shade," interjected Knuckles, "unless I know that my friends are safe and sound."

"They _are_ safe, Guardian! I already told you that!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Right now, lady, your word just isn't good enough for me."

"If you are so going to be so insistent on acting uncooperative, then fine by me. I'll have to have a talk with my master about this," spat Shade. She pressed a button on her wrist gauntlet. "Lord Ix, this is Procurator Shade," she said through her communicator. "The Guardian refuses to give us what we need. Do you want me to bring him to you?"

There was a pause, then the voice of the Imperator could be heard through Shade's communicator. The voice sounded like that of an old man. "Yes, bring him to my throne room immediately," he commanded.

"Yes, my lord," acknowledged Shade. She pressed another button on her wrist, and a dozen armored Nocturnus troops emerged from the doorway behind her. Half of them were the same soldier class as the men that attacked Shrine Isle, while the others hovered a few feet above the ground and possessed wings and twin disk-shaped weapons. "Guardian, for your own good, you best behave yourself when I take you to my leader. If you resist you will be put down. Understood?"

Knuckles didn't respond. "I'll take that as a 'yes.' Glad we understand each other." Shade hit yet another switch on her handy wrist gauntlet, and his binders clicked and he slid down the wall. The ones on his hands, however, remained attached and he was forced to walk with his hands behind his back. She gestured for him to follow and despite his reservations he obeyed. As they left the cell they were flanked on all sides by the black-garbed Nocturnus soldiers with their energy weapons trained on Knuckles.

The fourteen echidnas walked (or flew) through a maze of dark corridors in scarce blue and orange lighting. Knuckles gaped at the sheer size of the techno-fortress with its strange technology and features. Gears and gizmos lined the halls, but only a few Nocturnus were actually seen. _How could I not have known about this place before?_ wondered Knuckles. _Is the Brotherhood still keeping secrets from me?_ They eventually arrived in an elevator and ascended into a large dark chamber with a glowing blue floor. The perimeter of the room was raised up by platforms, and there was an observation deck of some sort on one wall. In the middle of the floor there was a floating golden throne adorned with curved spikes, and seated on it was a white echidna in long draping robes.

"FINITEVUS!" hollered Knuckles, startling the troops, who aimed their weapons at him. Shade clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Dr. Finitevus? I believe you are very much mistaken, my friend," said the echidna. Indeed, he wasn't the doctor at all. He wore a purple cape with long strips of purple fabric with blue insignias as well as golden trinkets, beneath which his torso was clad in a gray armored suit not unlike that worn by the other Nocturnus. His dreadlocks were styled in a very unusual pointed pattern behind him, and the only part of his face visible over his the golden upper rim of his robes were his solid blue eyes which almost appeared to glow in the darkness. Unlike most echidnas his fur was an extremely light shade of blue, although he also possessed a thick streak of white on his center dreadlock. In his right hand he held a long golden staff with the end shaped like the letter C. "Shade, you are dismissed," commanded the Imperator. "I need to speak to our guest alone."

"Yes, sir," said Shade and her men, bowing and leaving. Knuckles was left standing in front of the echidna chief, his hands behind his back in binders. With his flowing purple attire, imposing stature and glowing eyes, he almost seemed to radiate power and authority. Knuckles realized at once that he wasn't someone who could be trifled with, and he'd have be wary and clever if he was to get out of his mess...

The Nocturnus lord gazed intently at the Guardian with his bright blue eyes. Even though the Imperator was clearly dangerous, Knuckles still had tons of questions and was intent on getting answers. "Who...are you?" he asked.

"I am Imperator Pir'Oth Ix, the leader of the exiled Nocturnus Clan. Welcome to Nocturne," he stated.

"Well, you'll have to forgive me for not feeling very 'welcome,' added Knuckles carefully, "for I am, after all, in binders right here."

Ix snapped his fingers and the binders opened and fell to the ground with a clang. Knuckles rubbed his wrists gratefully. "Is that better, Guardian Knuckles? I know my men gave you a hard time, but trust me, we're all friends here. We echidnas ought to help each other, don't you think?"

"What are you babbling on about, man?" shouted Knuckles. "Who are you people? Why on Mobius did you take me and my friends hostage?"

"Your friends are in a cell down below. They're with good company, after all," said the Imperator.

"_What_ company?" screamed Knuckles. "I want ANSWERS!"

"Oh, just a few of your echidna brothers who ended up here. They called themselves the 'Brotherhood,' or something. But that is beside the point, my friend. Right now we are in the realm known as the Twilight Cage, or Twilight Zone, as that pesky Legion called it. It's a lonely, miserable existence, surviving off what meager resources we have. I have led the Nocturnus Clan ever since we were taken from our homeworld, and at long last we are near freedom. You see, we need your Master Emerald's power to open a wormhole large enough to move the entire fortress through," Ix explained.

Knuckles couldn't reply. Again he was left dumbfounded. "But...but...where did you come from? Why are you here?"

"We came from Mobius, same as you, my friend. Long ago, back the birth of Angel Island and Echidnaopolis, there was to be a massive colonial expedition dispatched from the echidna homeland of Albion. I and many others answered the call, and we landed in Soumerca with the intent of setting up a colony. We ran into a hitch, however, as there were ferocious native cat warriors called the Felidae who had the gall to attack us on sight for no reason. We fought valiantly to defend our right to the land, but the 'intellectuals' decided they wanted no part in the war and left to sail to Downunda. I, however, and my lifelong rival Pachacamac chose to remain behind and fight for the land which we called home. Gathering together the caste of advanced scientists who remained, I organized the Nocturnus Clan and we set about constructing this very citadel, defending ourselves from the natives as we developed our new society. Meanwhile, Pachacamac joined up with the 'warriors' who had remained, and they formed the Knuckles Clan, a despicable caste of warmongering beasts-"

"My people have always _admired_ the Knuckles Clan," spat Knuckles belligerently. "Where else do you think I got my name?"

Ix threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, my dear child, you are misguided beyond belief. As I was saying, Pachacamac was a war-loving fool who fully deserved the fate he brought upon himself. We watched as his clan was devoured by a Chaos-driven water beast, and with our main rivals out of the way we were free to spread our new culture based entirely on science and industry.

"But then...when we were on the threshold of scientific advancement surpassing that of Albion, a terrible event occurred in which Nocturne was wrenched from the ground into this Cage in what we call the 'Argus Event.' Since that time, we had to change and adapt to become who were are today. We had to become _perfect!_ For untold years I have combated the other creatures in this dimension as we tried to save ourselves from this living nightmare. But our efforts were stymied by the uppity Dark Legion and their wretched Grandmasters! Time and again they somehow escaped, while we were always left behind and unable to move through the portal. For us to escape now, my echidna brother, we need you to activate the Master Emerald."

Knuckles nearly fell to his knees after Ix's revelations. All this time there had been more echidnas locked away. Could he help them escape? After all, Albion and the Lost Tribe had been completely wiped out, the people of Echidnaopolis had been reduced to mere dozens, and even the Dark Legion had sustained heavy losses. _Perhaps they aren't as bad as I'm making them out to be?_ thought Knuckles. "Um...Ix," he began, "what exactly did you do that caused you to be pulled into the Cage?"

"We created the ultimate machine," answered Ix, "and it seems the gods were feeling quite resentful."


	12. Chapter 12: Political Affairs

Chapter 12: Political Affairs

**New Mobotropolis, Castle Acorn, morning**

Things were becoming tense in New Mobotropolis with the citizenry's new fear of Nicole, plus the Dark Egg Legion was on the move throughout the world, constructing bases and Legionizing anyone they could capture. And then there was also Eggman in hiding, waiting to make his next move. All the same, the Council of Acorn continued business as usual, albeit with the added bonus of governing during a turbulent time.

Today the Council was beginning their first meeting of the day in Castle Acorn. They seated themselves at their respective places around their podium and organized their papers before beginning the first item on their agenda, namely finishing up the revisions to the country's constitution. "And with this, the error in Article K is remedied," said Rosemary Prower.

"Good to hear," said King Elias Acorn. "But during my latest readthrough I noticed a contradiction in Article M as well, in sub-section C paragraph-"

He was interrupted by the sound of the doors to the council chamber swinging open to admit Sonic, Sally, and Julie-Su, unannounced each with clear discomfort and tension. Elias looked up an raised an eyebrow.

"Sally? You should have sent word that you were coming. We are in the middle of an important meeting here," he said sternly.

The princess was unmoved. "My apologies, Councillors, but this is an emergency. Angel Island's been attacked."

"Oh no," murmured Rotor Walrus. "Is it Dr. Eggman?"

Elias rose to his feet and looked around the room. "I'd sure hope not, Councillor Rotor. Everyone, I believe we ought to table our meeting for the time being to decide an appropriate course of action. Sally, please tell us everything you know about the situation. We need all the information we can gather to combat this threat."

"Well, I think Julie-Su would be a better candidate for that," she responded, gesturing for the Chaotic to step forward. Julie-Su took a deep breath and began recounting her story again.

"Last night the Chaotix and I were guarding the Master Emerald on Shrine Isle when we were awakened by some stealthy intruders in black. I recognized them as the soldiers of the Nocturnus Clan, a group of echidnas from the Twilight Zone, just like the Dark Egg Legion. They went for the Master Emerald and took out the majority of the team, but Knuckles and I managed to subdue the first wave. Then a woman arrived with reinforcements and knocked Knuckles out before I could help him, and then Dr. Finitevus emerged from a warp ring so I'd imagine he's involved as well. I barely managed to escape with my life and went to Freedom HQ to call the Freedom Fighters. We need to find out what has happened to Angel Island and Knuckles. I'm all that's left of the Chaotix now, so I need your help," pleaded Julie-Su.

The Councillors chattered quietly amongst themselves after Julie-Su had finished speaking. Finally Rotor spoke. "There's no question that these guys are a threat, and there's no way we can stand for this. I propose we send the Freedom Fighters to investiage."

"True," agreed Penelope, "I would be remiss if I said they aren't a threat. However, we have many matters to deal with here at home. We can't send our only army away."

"And _why not?_" challenged Rotor belligerently. "They probably took the Chaotix hostage, took the Master Emerald, and dropped Angel Island into the ocean! Let's go stop them before they can-"

"We know absolutely nothing about these 'Nocturnus' people! And the Freedom Fighters have to stay here to guard the citizens in case Eggman attacks! We can't afford to send the Freedom Fighters on some inter-dimensional hoedown! And what's more, if they live in another Zone, how on Mobius to you propose we strike at them?" shouted Hamlin.

Rosemary nodded. "Hamlin has a point. And given the recent events across the globe, I don't know if we can afford to send our team away on what could potentially be a deadly mission."

"All right, all right!" said Sir Charles. "You all have made valid cases. We cannot send the Freedom Fighters to an unknown hostile Zone. However, the entire team is here with us now. Couldn't we send a small group to Angel Island to ascertain the damage and look for clues as to the Nocturnus Clan's whereabouts?"

"That is a fine proposal, Sir Charles," agreed Elias. "Let's settle down and take a vote. All those in favor of sending a few Freedom Fighters to Angel Island?"

Julie-Su was immediately concerned. _What if they chose to wait?_ she wondered. _They've made asinine decisions before, so what's stopping them from doing it again? What if Knuckles is in danger now and we aren't able to help him?_

Rotor, Charles, and Dylan said "yea," leaving the Hamlin, Penelope, and Rosemary saying "nay." It was a tie. Everyone looked at Elias, as he had the tie-breaking vote. He looked at Julie-Su, saw her urgency, and made his decision. "Yea," he said.

Sonic spun in place happily. "Phew, the political babbling is over with," he said as Sally groaned. "Let's go to Angel Island!"


	13. Chapter 13: Hunters and the Hunted

Chapter 13: Hunters and the Hunted

**Outside New Mobotropolis, Freedom HQ, morning**

The storm from the previous evening had intensified. A thick blanket of dark storm clouds covered the sky, lightning flashed across the heavens, and rain hammered on everything in sight, leaving the ground slippery and muddy. It was an utterly unpleasant way to start off the day, as Bunnie and Antoine D'Coolette both thought as they waited in Freedom HQ for their friends to return from their mission to Angel Island.

"Y'know, sugah-Twan, Ah sure wish we could've gone along with Sally-girl and the others," said Bunnie, her hand resting on her chin.

"Well, zey are in need of somebody to be guarding ze front home, non?" replied her husband Antoine, who was polishing his trademark saber intently with a rag.

"'Front home'?" repeated Bunnie, confused. "Oh, you mean 'home front', don'cha?"

"Mmm, zank-you, zat will do nicely."

The couple sat bored in the downstairs common room on a green couch together, often looking at the orange Gizoid robot which rested against the interior wall of the cavern, temporarily deactivated for now. Despite the fact that it seemed rusted and unable to speak more than incoherent snippets, when the robot was active it was quite a force to be reckoned with. Strong and skilled, it had been been able to hold its own in sparring matches with Sonic and Tails (or at least when they went easy on it). Being able to copy the abilities of other beings certainly did come in handy. At the same time, though, the Freedom Fighters were always very cautious of it as it was an Eggman robot, and its docile appearance could very well have been a complete deception in order to lull the team into a false sense of security before striking. It was for that very reason that Tails and Rotor had deactivated it when they weren't on-duty watching it.

"I am wondering when zey are to be returning," wondered Antoine after a few more minutes had passed. Bunnie had risen and was doing some stretches in her downtime.

"I don't know," she answered. "I sho' hope nuthin' bad happened to them. Ah told them to be very careful, but you know how the sugah-hog is..."

Antoine nodded. "Oui, he is quite impulsive, and he often finds trouble. But at least he is lucky and always escapes ze trouble."

There was suddenly a loud WHOMP from above, dislodging dust off the ceiling and startling both of the two Freedom Fighters. "Speaking of ze trouble, what is zat?" asked Antoine as he grabbed his sword. "If zey are back now, zen will you tell zem to be turning down the volume? Zat is so insiderate!"

"That's 'inconsiderate', Twan, and somehow Ah don't think that's our friends," replied Bunnie gravely, running to the staircase to the upper level followed closely behind by Antoine. Neither of them noticed the orange Gizoid reactivating itself and following them. She bolted up the stairs three at a time, and when she emerged on in the main room she looked out the window discovered a giant silver capsule outside, half-submerged in the wet soil. As she watched, horrified, a brigade of four gray Gizoid-like robots exited the capsule and kicked the door to Freedom HQ open-they were Dr. Eggman's E-121 Phi series, and they had finally arrived to reclaim the Gizoid for their master. Bunnie engaged her arm cannon. "Sugah-'Twan, get to a safe distance! Ah'll handle these durn clankers." She immediately shot one robot in the head and it flew off. The three that remained saw the Gizoid, which was standing at the top of the staircase, apparently curious.

"Found him! Found him! Capture him! Capture him!" they chanted. Antoine drew his saber and immediately hacked the limbs off of every robot that he could. Bunnie, for her part, easily dispatched the badniks with her cybernetic arm cannon, sending gray shards of metal flying every which way. Within seconds the group of Gizoid facsimilies were little more than scrap. But they had little time to even think about their victory because a larger wave of ten more robots burst into the common room through the open doorway.

"Aw, blast it, can't y'all shoddy Eggman robos take a hint?" asked Bunnie, punching one of the robots as she rearmed her cannon. Its yellow eyes flashed and it punched her right back in the stomach, and she doubled over in pain, then received a kick and was sent flying backwards.

Antoine impaled one of the Phis in the chest, but a second snatched his sword away and swung back. He leaped back to avoid any serious injury, but the sword did slice through the outer layer of his blue soldier's uniform. The real Gizoid, having been watching the entire scuffle, seemed interested in the fight, its blue eyes blinking every now and then. It took all the data it desired before using Sonic's spin dash and rocketed into three of the Phis, which exploded with sparks. It uncurled from its ball, grabbed Antoine's fallen saber, and sliced the head off of two more robots. The four that were left looked uncertainly at each other before the Gizoid attacked in a flurry of punches and kicks, decimating the last of the Phis.

"Whoa..." said Bunnie, standing up, "...that's one tough 'bot."

"Oui, oui," Antoine agreed. "I can be having my saber back now, non?"

The Gizoid was quite an well-built robot, a source of awe for all those who witnessed its power. But its power wasn't complete. Luckily for it, emerging from a portal to the Special Zone from the Star Posts in Freedom HQ's lab was Geoffrey St. John, the purple Chaos Emerald tucked under one of his arms. He was on a mission to retrieve the gem for the senile former king Maximillian. He placed Emerald in his backpack and walked into the common room, expecting to see no one in sight. Instead, he came upon two Freedom Fighters, the Gizoid holding a sword, and over a dozen smashed robots.

"H-hey, mates. I...was just on a little mission for the King in the Special Zone. Did I miss something?" he asked. The Gizoid looked at him, its eyes flashing again. "What's with that metal bloke?" he got out before he was tackled by the robot which careened across the room, tore open his backpack, and held up the Chaos Emerald. The Emerald glowed as the Gizoid siphoned out some of its limitless power. It dropped the Emerald, its eyes glowing cyan.

"Hey! What are you doing with zat Emerald?" questioned the surprised Antoine to the Gizoid. "And where did _you_ even get zat Emerald?" he asked Geoffrey suspiciously.

"I told you, I was sent to the Special Zone. Top-secret mission, eyes only. Do me a favor and keep this between us, 'kay? The King won't be happy at all if he finds out this operation was compromised," warned Geoffrey.

Bunnie nodded. "Oh, we understand. Sure thing." Geoffrey thanked them and got to his feet, scowling, and snatched the purple Emerald. He put it under his arm and ran out the door quickly as Bunnie watched.

The Gizoid turned its head, eyes still glowing. "Show me your power. Or I shall not obey. I represent all things, and shall become Gizoid, the conqueror of all."

"Uh...what?" asked Bunnie, at a loss for words. Antoine, meanwhile, stared slack-jawed at the robot that had destroyed an entire squad of enemy robots and had suddenly started talking.

"Hey, you all are looking at me funny. What's wrong, guys?" inquired the Gizoid.


	14. Chapter 14: The Downed Island

Chapter 14: The Downed Island

**Angel Island, Shrine Isle, early morning**

When the Master Emerald was stolen from its altar on Shrine Isle, it left Angel Island without any source of power to keep it afloat. About a year before Dr. Eggman had destroyed the original Chaos Chamber and sent the island falling into the churning seas below, and now with the Master Emerald taken again, this catastrophic event had occurred once more, sending a tsunami wave crashing into the coastline. This time it was above the Downundan ocean instead of the Soumercan one, but the jarring impact was all too familiar to those who made residence on its lush but battered surface.

Shrine Isle and the Master Emerald's altar hadn't exactly fared well, either. When the island crashed into the ocean the rickety bridge attaching the spit of rock to the mainland nearly snapped in two, leaving the shrine to drift nearby in the sea, barely connected. It above the ground of this loose mini-island that a warp ring materialized and opened to reveal Julie-Su and an entourage of Freedom Fighters consisting of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally Acorn, Amy Rose, and Tails. Their fears were immediately justified when they saw the ocean waves crashing lightly against the edge of the isle.

"No...we're too late..." whispered Julie-Su, falling to her knees.

"It looks like your fears were justified, Julie-Su. The Nocturnus Clan agents made off with the Emerald," said Sally gravely.

"Aw, I just _hate_ it," Sonic complained, tapping a foot angrily, "when I'm not quick enough to save the day."

Amy put her hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Sonic, don't blame yourself. I mean, we didn't even know this was going on when it happened."

"C'mon Amy, I was just kidding," said Sonic with exasperation. "Anyway, what are we going to do now? Should we go and search the rest of the island or what?"

A black-armored Nocturnus Clan soldier stepped out from behind the Master Emerald's altar. "I have a better idea: perhaps you can lay down your arms and surrender to us."

The Freedom Fighters whirled around, ready for a fight. "Oh, please. Don't even start with us, mister" said Sonic, wagging a finger. "I've beaten up more guys like you than I can count. You sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I am. This is your last chance to surrender, rodents," said the soldier.

_"We will never surrender to you ingrates!"_ screamed Julie-Su, who flew at the Nocturnus trooper, drew her double-barreled laser gun and took a shot at the agent. He held up a barrel-shaped weapon which blocked the laser when it struck. He then tapped a button on his wrist gauntlet and two dozen more Nocturnus soldiers materialized out of nowhere and attacked Julie-Su all at once, knocking her to the ground.

The Nocturnus captain cocked his weapon. "So, does this even the odds enough for you?" he asked.

"Even the odds? Nah, not really," replied Sonic who revved up a spin-dash and careened at the swarm of Nocturnus troopers. The commander shot a blue energy projectile at Sonic, knocking the surprised hedgehog to the ground. Sonic rubbed his chest where he had been hit but jumped back onto his feet and continued spin-dashing while Sally ordered Amy and Tails to attack. Amy's Piko-Piko hammer materialized in her hand and she moved to confront the commander while Tails moved to take on the flying Nocturnus. In seconds the two were on the ground, defeated by the highly skilled soldiers.

"Sal! Tails and Amy are out!" shouted Sonic who was facing all twenty-five Nocturnus at once. His opponents were utterly bent on defeating him, and whenever he tried to spin-dash one of the men would punch or kick him and he'd fall, attempt to get up and just get attacked again, quickly getting covered in bruises and scrapes, but still he fought. Julie-Su, Tails, and Amy were lying on the ground, motionless while Sonic tried to stay alive. _I only see one option now,_ thought Sally, who was quickly becoming panicked.

"Sonic! Grab the others and retreat!" she commanded. Sonic wasn't willing to give up just yet and continued his futile fight, but after he received another punch in the stomach he was ready to get out of there. He hadn't even scratched his enemies, who were far more intent on victory than he had expected. He was skilled, but far outnumbered.

Suddenly another warp ring popped into existence where the Master Emerald used to be. _Oh, please, please be backup,_ thought Sonic hopefully, but when the bandage-covered foot of Dr. Finitevus emerged from the ring he lost all hope. "Hello, _heroes._ It's been a while, hasn't it?" he announced in a falsely welcoming tone.

"What up, Doc?" asked Sonic, half buried under a pileup of ferocious soldiers. Two of them had gone after Sally and held her by the arms. The Freedom Fighters had been defeated.

"We'll accept your surrender now, cretins," offered the Nocturnus commander.

Sonic tapped his finger on the ground. The men had moved off of him and he sat crouching on the ground at gunpoint. He mustered all of his strength and prepared himself to run as fast as he ever had. "Eh, maybe later," he said before taking off with his ultimate last-ditch move: the figure-eight super peel-out. The Nocturnus men were caught off guard as they were bowled over like pins by the speedy hedgehog. He curled into a ball and began another spin-dash, then knocked the men away from Sally. She immediately tossed up her warp ring when she landed, opening an escape route. Sonic, still running, collided with three soldiers who had the guts to stand in his way. They made contact with the ground a second later, completely stunned.

Dr. Finitevus was attempting to flee from the scene with a warp ring but Sonic, enraged over the treatment of his friends, dashed up the altar and kicked him in the chest, sending the startled doctor flying nearly fifty meters into the sea where he landed with a massive splash. "That was for Knuckles," said Sonic, giving him a two-fingered salute.

Sally had already taken the initiative and dragged the limp Tails, Amy, and Julie-Su through the warp ring, meaning Sonic just needed to run down the steps, knock the soldiers out of his way, and dive through the entrance. The ring shut after he went through, leaving about two dozen Nocturnus soldiers and one very wet doctor to contemplate how their victory had turned to defeat so quickly.

"Hmph. I guess we underestimated you, Sonic the Hedgehog," muttered the Nocturnus commander, pulling himself off the ground.


	15. Chapter 15: Citadel Showdown

Chapter 15: Citadel Showdown

**Twilight Cage, Nocturne, Ix's chambers**

As much as Knuckles the Echidna would've liked to quickly accept the information he was told by Imperator Ix, even he was still aware that there was still the possibility that he was being tricked. Part of him wanted to believe that clan were truly good people whose ends justified their means, and that they could be welcomed back to Mobius with open arms and nothing bad would come of it. But on the other hand, they could very well be sadistic war-loving beasts with a desire to conquer the planet. And it was that precisely that unlikely but distinct possibility that led Knuckles to keep his guard up.

"Okay...Ix," began Knuckles carefully, "I'm...I'm just not sure I can trust you. You did, after all, capture me and the Chaotix, then stole the Master Emerald out from under my nose-which I happen to be the _Guardian_ of, by the way. And not only that, but you seemed to recognize Dr. Finitevus, who is kind of a notorious villain. You want me to help you; but why should I given what mischief you've caused? If I help you return to Mobius, won't you just continue your villainous ways?"

Ix scoffed and rolled his eyes as if he hadn't heard anything sillier in his life. "Villainous ways? How quaint. Boy, you must understand that we couldn't have ensured you would have been willing to help us. In fact, Dr. Finitevus thought it would be extremely unlikely."

"Finitevus is a liar, and if you believe a word that scumbag says you're even a bigger fool than I am!" spat Knuckles. "And kidnapping us and dropping our homeland into the ocean is a little bit extreme for what you're trying to accomplish, don't you think?!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" argued Ix, banging his staff against the ground. "We are at the end of our rope here! You have no idea what it is like to be part of a culture sustained by limited resources in a desolate wasteland. Over countless centuries I have known nothing else but this, and all we want is to be free of this nightmare. Why can't you understand?"

"Ix, I'm the Guardian of Angel Island. You took us hostage without even bothering to so much as _negotiate_. I have every right to be suspicious of you and I swore to keep the Master Emerald safe from harm. I'd love to help a fellow echidna in need, considering how the population on Mobius is so miniscule now thanks to Dr. Eggman, but you're going to need to try a lot harder to convince me that you're good guys."

The Imperator's eyes glowed dangerously, illuminating his shadow-covered form "I do not have the time or patience for this! I am not used to being trifled with, boy, and I'm tiring quite quickly of this childish argument! You do _not_ want to incur my wrath!"

Knuckles folded his arms. "I thought so," he said firmly. "I had a feeling in my gut that you were just using me. And I was right."

Ix's grip on his golden scepter tightened. "You have one last chance to do as I say, you insolent dust mite, or I will wipe you from the face of this dimension!"

Knuckles bent his knees, inhaled deeply, and prepared himself for a fight. He bowed his head solemnly. "I'm sorry, Ix. But you're a monster who needs to be stopped for his own good," he said.

"Then you have chosen your path," replied Ix. "Planet Mobius will be mine before too long, but _you_ will not be an obstacle any longer. Prepare to die!"

Ix aimed his scepter at Knuckles and shot a thick laser of blue energy at the echidna. Knuckles leaped aside while the laser blasted a small crater in the floor, while Knuckles fanned his dreadlocks to attain lift and shot through the air at the Imperator. Ix jumped off his throne as Knuckles's spiky fists impacted, punching through the metal effortlessly and sending the entire structure hurling to the ground, where it crashed and exploded into pieces, smoking. Knuckles whirled around as Ix flew through the air, kept aloft by his glowing boots, and floated in front of him, staff in hand.

"I'm actually impressed. I rather liked that throne," mused Ix. "But don't worry, I will destroy you all the same."

"Not happening, Ix!" roared Knuckles. "I'm gonna take you down!"


	16. Chapter 16: EggDome Invasion

Chapter 16: EggDome Invasion

**EggDome, secret surveillance room, morning**

The illustrious tyrant Dr. Eggman was slouching on his comfy chair in the security room, located in the lowest decks of the EggDome, taking a brief break from building robots. His feet were propped up on the control console in front of him, while his hands were resting on the armrests. To the uninitiated he seemed to be blissfully idling, but his brain was hard at work formulating details for future plans and he was very much alert. He always was.

His nephew Snively was nearby operating the EggDome's security monitors, his duty being to watch both the hallways inside the Dome itself as well as the progress made by the E-121 Phi brigade. He was able to view the world through the eyes of all fourteen robots and could switch back and forth between them at will. He watched as their egg transport crash landed some distance from Freedom HQ in the stormy weather. The robots climbed out of the pod, and four of them immediately entered the Freedom Fighters' base. Then one of the robot's signals went blank as its head was blasted off by Bunnie's arm cannon.

"Wow, already? This is going to be a very short mission," groaned Snively as Antoine and Bunnie cut into the first wave of Phis. Three more signals went dead and the screen went blank before it automatically switched to the other cameras.

Ten more were sent in; another signal went dead as the a Phi took Bunnie by surprise and the rest began overwhelming Antoine. "Wait, they're actually winning?" said Snively in surprise. Then he saw a bright orange blur fly across the screen, and three more signals died. "Oh, well never mind, then," muttered Snively, leaning back in his chair as he watched the Gizoid fly into action and crush the remaining robots. The screen went black.

"Sir? Your Phis were all destroyed," shouted Snively. Dr. Eggman lifted an eyebrow and pushed his chair over to the security console.

"Out of my way!" he shouted as he shoved Snively out of the way and stopped in front of the main monitor. "Computer, Phi status check," he said, refusing to accept that his creations had been destroyed already. The screen was replaced by a list of the fourteen robots indicating which were active. There was a red dot by all of their names, indicating they had ceased functioning. "Blast it all," spat Eggman, cursing his luck. "Well, I guess I'll have to-"

"S-sir?" stuttered Snively nervously, who was watching one of the other security screens. "I think we have intruders."

Eggman took his eyes off the main screen and looked at Snively's. He saw several black-armored men and orange emerging from the wreckage of New Megaopolis surrounding the EggDome, expertly climbing around and over the debris. The Nocturnus Clan had arrived to oust the Eggman Empire. _Wait, are those...Gizoids?_ wondered Eggman as he watched.

Down below the clan, organized and disciplined from countless years of training, prepared its assault to take control of the Eggman Empire. While the brunt of the invasion force consisted of echidnas some were Gizoids, the clan's trademark robots. The assassins were led by the one of the highest-ranking Nocturnus commanders, a Nocturne High Praetorian.

"Troops, begin the attack. You are to disable the facility's power generator, then move in and capture Dr. Robotnik and his lackeys. Show no mercy to those idiot Dark Legionnaires," the Praetorian commanded. He was answered by a chorus of "yessirs" from his men. The force attacking Eggman's base was massive, consisting of Nocturnus troops from every rank and skill level. They all shared a common goal and had the resolve to accomplish it in the name of their Imperator, and that was the sole thought going through the minds of the army as they made their way to the base of the EggDome.

The egg-shaped dictator watched with growing apprehension at the army crawling out from the ruins. Beside him, Snively was sweating and shaking in terror. "S-s-sir, sh-shouldn't w-we b-be f-f-fleeing n-now?" he asked. But Eggman didn't respond or move from his chair. He was too busy observing the massive army and its Gizoids...which were just like the one he was trying to take back from the Freedom Fighters. _But I thought they were made by the Fourth Great Civilization, which supposedly vanished hundreds of years ago!_ wondered Eggman, genuinely confused.

A previously blank screen in front of Eggman suddenly flickered to life and the face of the recently-reconstructed Grandmaster Lien-Da appeared. "Dr. Robotnik, sir? I...think you should take a look at the outer security cameras," she said slowly.

"Yes, I know. Unfortunately our ship is not yet ready for takeoff, and our weapons system wouldn't be able to repel that many troops," admitted Eggman. "However, I have prepared for such a problem. Enerjak may have destroyed my Egg Fleet, but one of the ships was grounded receiving engine repairs, and I had it repaired in the event of an emergency such as this. Activate the Legion's saucers and get up to the hangar bay on the top of the base. Snively and I will be joining you shortly."

The doctor then stood up in his seat and ran. Snively scuttled after him as droplets of sweat poured down his face. They ran through a series of half-finished passageways until they reached a hidden elevator which they rode upward to the higher decks of the EggDome. Mere minutes later they arrived at the top of the base, where the echidna branch of the Dark Egg Legion was already assembled with their saucers. Eggman went to a control panel and flipped a switch, causing the giant hanger doors in the top of the base to slide open.

Down below the Nocturnus Clan was entering the base. They breached the walls with lasers shot from their suits and moved to secure the EggDome. "Locate Robotnik immediately," ordered the High Praetorian. His men ran and flew through the depths of the EggDome, securing hallways and checking for traces of the doctor's presence, finding none. They weren't detecting anything. Eggman had already disappeared.

Eggman flew a saucer with Snively and Lien-Da while the rest of the Dark Egg Legion followed closely behind. Everyone was completely silent except for the terrified Snively, who was muttering incomprehensible gibberish under his breath. Eventually they arrived at the Egg Fleet's old launch site, a long array of hangers which was almost entirely abandoned and wrecked. It was a long complex with numerous hangar doors, most of them dented and damaged, but one was intact, a single operational ship underneath. Four minutes later the last ship of the fleet had launched into the sky, shaking the earth with a roar as it carried Eggman and his Legion to safety away from the city.

From a window in the EggDome the High Praetorian watched the red fish-shaped ship soar into the dark clouds and disappear. He turned to a trooper beside him. "Alert Imperator Ix," he ordered. "Dr. Robotnik has escaped."


	17. Chapter 17: Emerl

Chapter 17: Emerl

**Outside New Mobotropolis, Freedom HQ, morning**

Undeterred by time, the ferocious storm thrashed the countryside as it had all morning, continuing to drench New Mobotropolis. In this pouring rain the distinctive glow of a materializing warp ring shined brightly in the gloom and the team consisting of Sonic, Sally, Tails, Amy, and Julie-Su dove out through the expanding ring as they escaped the Nocturnus ambush. They landed on the ground, wet dirt caking their fur.

"Well, that was a disaster," announced Sally, brushing dirt off her front.

"I'll say! Do you have any idea how long it'll take to get this mud out of my dress?" complained Amy bitterly, dejectedly looking down at her chlorophyll stained clothing.

"Disaster? Nah, that was fun," said Sonic, pulling himself off the ground and doing some post-battle stretches. "I did kick Doc Fini's butt, after all. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Beside him, Tails glanced at the nearby Freedom HQ and immediately noticed that something was very wrong. His heart dropped as he caught sight of the large, glistening metal pod resting on the ground in front of the Freedom Fighters' base, half-submerged in the ground. "Um...Sonic? It looks like we got some uninvited visitors while we were gone," alerted Tails. Sonic raised and eyebrow and looked where his friend was pointing.

"Oh snap," muttered Sonic. The Freedom Fighters, tired as they were from the disastrous Angel Island escapade, made a beeline for their base of operations. Upon entering they found the Gizoid, Bunnie, and Antoine standing over the wreckage of what looked like a dozen or so robot shells. The latter two were breathing heavily as if they had just ran a mile, and their weapons were still on hand. The Gizoid, meanwhile, ran to the Freedom Fighters as they came in.

"Hey, dudes! What'd we miss?" asked Sonic as he walked through the doorway. Sally, Tails, Amy and Julie-Su shuffled in, seeing the scorch marks on the stone walls the rubble that had been knocked loose from the ceiling, littering the floor.

"Well, _you_ sure arrived right in ze nick of time," said Antoine sarcastically, who was resting his weight on his saber and gasping for breath.

"Shush, sugah-Twan," chastised Bunnie. "Welcome back, y'all. As you can see, good ol' Doc Eggums made a housecall a minute ago, but we-alls have it under control. Our orange friend here made sure of that."

"Why are so many enemies simultaneously attacking us?" wondered Julie-Su aloud. "First Knuckles gets kidnapped by some echidna clan, and now Dr. Eggman is sending more killer robots after us?"

Sonic shook his head. "Yeah, but this is about par for the course for ol' Buttnik," he said. "But I'm a little more interested in the robot here...Bunnie, didn't you say the robot we found helped fight off Eggman's bots?" he questioned, looking inquisitively at the Gizoid which was standing next to her.

"Yes, I helped!" said the Gizoid to general astonishment. "How have you all been? You guys look a little beat up."

Sally put her hand over her mouth, shocked. "It...did that thing just talk...?"

"What's wrong, Sally?" questioned the Gizoid with a tilted head, "why are you surprised?"

"That orange doodad started talkin' as soon as Geoff-er, _someone_ came in here with a Chaos Emerald," explained Bunnie, remembering her promise to Geoffrey to keep his mission under wraps. "It grabbed the Emerald, got outta the loop for a sec, then started speakin'."

"_Someone_ came in with a Chaos Emerald?" asked Sally uncertainly. "Why on Mobius aren't you being upfront with us?"

Antoine and Bunnie exchanged nervous glances, unsure what they should say. "Yes, Sally-girl," replied Bunnie slowly. "Look, it was...someone from the city who was on a special assignment. He asked us to keep it a secret and Ah'm gonna honor that...even though we already kinda spilled it."

Sonic shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon," he said, patting the Gizoid on the shoulder. "Hey, I've got an idea! Since you absorbed the energy from one, why don't we call you Emerl? Y'know, as in 'Emerald'?"

"Yeah, real clever," mumbled Tails. "So! Emerl (if that's what we're calling you now), Eggman is after you, judging from those busted robots over there. Do you know who built you?"

Emerl shook his head. "I don't know, Tails. Do you?"

The screen on the far wall of the laboratory lit up and the face of Nicole appeared. "Hey, everyone, I'm sorry to interrupt, but my sensors are detecting a large aerial vessel approaching us!" she shouted, prompting everyone to rush into the lab.

"A large aerial vessel?" repeated Sonic. "Must be Eggman."


	18. Chapter 18: Guardian and Imperator

Chapter 18: Guardian and Imperator

**Twilight Cage, Nocturne, Ix's chambers**

Imperator Pir'Oth Ix, leader of the mysterious and ancient Nocturnus Clan, was not accustomed to being trifled with or defied. His devoted followers always obeyed his edicts without question or hesitation-such loyalty was an absolute necessity in order to ensure the clan's survival in the empty, barren space of the Twilight Cage. However, Guardian Knuckles had stubbornly refused to join Ix in his soon-to-be-realized conquest of planet Mobius, and now the embattled Imperator was beyond furious at his prisoner's defiance.

Kept aloft by his hoverboots, Ix floated a few meters above Knuckles as a means of asserting his superiority over the red echidna. His cape and the flowing purple fabric strips on his front billowed in the updraft, his eyes glowed a fierce blue, and he began charging up in energy in his Imperator scepter. "I do not give second chances to my own followers," said Ix, "so you should consider yourself fortunate that I am allotting you this one final opportunity to join the rest of your people. What is it going to be, Guardian?"

"For the last blasted time, I'm not helping you!" yelled Ix's foe Knuckles the Echidna. "Echidna or not, you can't attack me, steal the Master Emerald, drop my homeland into the ocean, and kidnap my friends and expect me to help you! _Especially_ once you made it clear that you're just another megalomaniac echidna who thinks the world should be yours. You're hardly the first one I've dealt with, and I'm going to deal with you just the same."

"Those are rather impressive words for a petty dust mite like yourself who possesses all the skill and intellectual capacity of an ant," mocked Ix. "It seems that _thinking_ wasn't one of the abilities that was passed down my cursed rival Pachacamac's bloodline...but there's no surprises there." Ix aimed his staff at Knuckles and shot a thick green ball of energy directly at Knuckles, only for the Guardian to once more avoid the attack with an expertly-timed leap. The ball singed one of his dreadlocks but he was otherwise unharmed.

"Just a word of advice, mister. You say I am as skilled as an ant...just to let you know, I was _trained_ by one. And he trained me well!" smirked Knuckles, dodging every energy ball sent at him. He performed back-flips, barrel rolls, and glided through the air as blasts rang out around him, impacting against the glowing blue floor and gray walls. Ix roared in rage, his temper rising. He slowly floated backwards, growing more and more frustrated with every missed attack. His solid blue eyes were narrowed and his teeth were clenched as he swung his golden staff in broad motions and fired more energy blasts at Knuckles, all of which missed by wide margins. _Seriously, this old guy has no idea how to fight,_ thought Knuckles. _He's powerful, yeah, but I doubt he's actually entered the fray very often...which makes my job much easier._

Ix breathed in heavily as he began tiring himself from expending so much of his power on one very agile opponent who was literally running circles around him, and he felt a bead of sweat make its way down his forehead, which he immediately flicked off. Knuckles noticed Ix's exhaustion and angry lack of focus, and decided that now was the best time to attack...after another spout of taunting, naturally. "Hey, Ix! How's that 'destroying me' stuff coming along?" inquired Knuckles, blowing a raspberry as he jumped up high to avoid Ix's retaliatory green laser that would've taken his head off if he had been a split-second too late. "Ooh, so close," he mocked, doing a cartwheel as a second laser shattered a valuable-looking machine behind him. "Hey, are you going to try anything new? I'm sick of dodging lasers."

"I AM THROUGH TOYING WITH YOU! TAKE THIS!" hollered Ix, who swung his staff and created a huge, pulsating sphere of dark energy around himself, and it expanded around him with great speed. Acting quickly, Knuckles whirled around, jumped into the air and glided up to one of the platforms around the perimeter of the room while the speckled black sphere reached its maximum radius and fizzled out of existence. As it did so, Ix fell on one knee, gasping for breath and using his staff to support himself.

Sensing an opportunity to land a finishing blow, Knuckles began running toward the Imperator, with a battle cry, who halfheartedly willed himself to rise and shoot one final green laser that veered several degrees off course and expended most of the reserve power in the staff. Ix grunted as Knuckles' spiky fist slammed into his chest. Although his armor absorbed the brunt of the impact, it was enough to send him careening across the floor, where he slid to an undignified stop against the wall, but to Knuckles' surprise quickly pulled himself up.

"I'm not finished yet, boy! Let's see how strong you _really_ are!" challenged Ix, slicking his dreadlocks back and tossing his staff aside. Despite being in a weakened state he willed himself to break into a run and he caught the surprised Knuckles with glancing blow to the stomach, and followed suit with a kick to the red echidna's chin. Knuckles toppled backwards on his rump.

Suddenly the elevator door opened and a panicked Procurator Shade ran in. "Lord Ix, sir! I thought I heard...loud noises..." she said, taking in the sight of the ravaged throne room. There were still-smoking craters and scorch marks all along the ceiling, walls and floor. She saw her master standing over the coughing Guardian, and was not at all surprised that the Imperator had chosen to engage him in battle...though she was still a tad disappointed that the two had not been able to make peace.

"As you can see, I have it all under control, Procurator," assured Ix. Shade saw his torn purple robes and raised and eyebrow under her mask, but chose to keep any dissent to herself, for unquestioning loyalty to one's superiors was one of the primary rules of the Nocturnus Clan.

"Oof..." grunted Knuckles, a hand on his abdomen. Ix towered above him, looking with malice upon his fallen enemy. "But let's see how you fight when I'm ready for you!" dared Knuckles, jumping back up.

"Should I help you, master?" asked Shade with concern. "I could-"

"Enough! I told you I had it under control!" barked Ix as he engaged in a round of old-fashioned fisticuffs with Knuckles. He swung the first punch, but Knuckles countered and hit Ix with an uppercut, cracking the metal yellow rim of Ix's robes. The Guardian then threw a second punch which Ix caught, and received a fist to the forehead because of it. Although he felt a painful bruise forming Knuckles was able to shake away the pain, and performed a sideways slice that hit Ix in the face, causing him to back away in pain. Knuckles took his chance to lunge forward and grab one of Ix's arms. Caught off-guard, Ix failed to react in time before Knuckles swung him around and slammed him hard against the floor, knocking the wind out of him.

The victorious Guardian stepped forward and placed a foot on top of his defeated opponent. "Looks like I win," proclaimed Knuckles. He turned to see if Shade was still watching, and was surprised to see no one on the balcony. He heard a popping noise behind him and turned, and received a kick to the face, causing him to fly backward into a wall. "Y-you..." sputtered Knuckles.

"No one attacks my master and survives," said the female warrior known as Shade with deadly seriousness. Coughing and covered in bruises and scrapes, the battered Guardian shakily rose to his feet, but instead of attacking Shade tapped several buttons on her wrist gauntlet. Two tall orange robots carrying staffs dashed into the room. They had comparatively small heads with cyan eyes, but had bulky armor-covered shells and carried pointed staffs. They were mostly humanoid, but their lower torsos extended downward and a single wide wheel was located in what would otherwise be legs. "Gizoid Guardians, attack!" ordered Shade, pointing at Knuckles.

_Yeah, no. I'm not in the mood for more of this,_ thought Knuckles, turning and looking up at the wall. He saw that there was an upper platform at the top of the wall, and as such he made the decision to scale it. He punched handholds in the metal and scaled the wall with ease, and was halfway to the top by the time the Gizoid Guardians reached his spot and began swinging (and) missing at his legs. He hurled himself on top of the platform and was overjoyed to find a pair of blue-lighted double-doors, which he immediately shoved open. He ran out into the outer part of Nocturne, and although he had seen the inside of the Zone before he had to suppress goosebumps at what he saw.

He was standing beneath a bottomless swirling purple and indigo sky, with nebulous purple clouds floating in the distance against what appeared to be a starry backdrop. Aside from the city-fortress of Nocturne itself there appeared to be several smaller chunks of crooked rock floating in the void, but they were too far away to discern individual details. Knuckles' attention then turned to Nocturne itself; like the inside of the citadel there were blue lights everywhere and hundreds of pieces of jagged machinery pointed upward. There were dozens upon dozens of platforms, small and large, and the entire place was submerged in perpetual partial darkness. The lowest part of the Nocturne was covered in huge crooked rocks that pointed downward like stalactites, suggesting that it had once been nestled in the earth of Mobius. Luminescent blue crystals, stone echidna statues, and gear-shaped patterns covered the entire fortress, which was complete with a small magma river that poured off the side and into the starlit abyss. Knuckles was truly amazed, but his feeling were quickly replaced by urgency. He ran forward onto the edge of the balcony, below which was teeming with Nocturnus soldiers.

"Going somewhere, Guardian?" asked Ix from behind him. Knuckles turned and screamed as Shade flew out of nowhere and hit him with a body-slam, knocking him down. Shade then followed through with a kick to the head, causing him to fall onto his hands and knees and lose his focus. But he willed himself to remain awake even as his vision began blurring.

"You are a fool, Knuckles," said Ix, who was considerably battered but still somehow managed to command an aura of power. "You had your chance to join me, and you rejected it. Your _death_ will be beyond excruciating. Shade, finish him off when I give you the word."

"W-What?" she stuttered in shock, looking down at her beaten foe. "But...I..."

"You will do it," snapped Ix, banging his staff against the ground. "Knuckles, for your insubordination I will make sure that your friends and family suffer as well. The Brotherhood of Guardians, my captives from the Chaotix, and all the others on Mobius will burn when I finally am able to take the planet. Remember that, you filthy worm, and never forget that it was _your_ actions that led to their fate!"

"Take...the planet?" repeated Shade. She turned away from Knuckles and faced her master. "I...but...we never talked about conquering the world! You only said we would return to it! I won't...!"

"SILENCE!" roared Ix, losing his temper and slamming the butt of his staff against the ground and using the last of his power for a final attack. A white wave of power blasted from his staff and slammed into Knuckles and Shade, blasting the injured Guardian and his Procurator off Nocturne and into space. Floating and screaming as they fell away, they faded into the stark darkness.

Ix watched their flailing bodies disappear into the purple space dust and clouds of the Twilight Cage, and looked away. "It is done. Mobius will be mine shortly," he told himself. "The day of reckoning will be here soon, and I will at last have my revenge."


	19. Chapter 19: Retreat

Chapter 19: Retreat

**Egg Carrier, New Megaopolis airspace, morning**

A massive sleek vessel circled across ravaged skyline of New Megaopolis, rain from the morning storm pounding on its hull. It was the only remaining ship from the Eggman Empire's former Egg Fleet, having been grounded and under repair while the rest of the ships were destroyed by an Enerjak. It was long, shaped like a fish, covered in a red and blue armor shell, and was lined with dozens upon dozens of cannons. One ship alone was enough to strike terror into the souls of most of Dr. Eggman's enemies, and when the fleet was whole it was a horrifying sight to behold.

Sitting in the captain's chair in the bridge was Dr. Eggman himself, his brow furrowed and his mouth a thin line. To his right was his nephew Snively and to his left was the main D.E.L. Grandmaster named Lien-Da. Both were fully expecting a speedy regrouping from New Megaopolis followed by a full-scale retaliation against the belligerent Nocturnus Clan, and indeed that was just what Dr. Eggman had in mind. "I want you to send a signal to the Eurish D.E.L.," ordered Eggman to his two lackeys after quickly mulling over his available options. "Grandmaster Hugo Brass and his chapter's Egg Paladins haven't seen much action lately, but they are some of the most elite warriors in my entire Dark Egg Legion and more than adept for the job at hand. They will supplement my echidna forces well for a swift counterattack against our opponents."

"Yes sir, right away sir," said Lien-Da though clenched teeth, fuming silently over the fact that the doctor didn't trust her own Legion to get the job done. Eggman watched her and Snively contact Grandmaster Hugo Brass, pulling up his image over the windshield in front of them. He was a tall dark-skinned man with cybernetic enhancements covering one side of his face, two sleek cybernetic arms, and wore a red Grandmaster outfit that slightly resembled the one worn by Dr. Eggman himself. He wore an angry but almost blank expression that seemed to be permanently etched on his face; this was because Eggman had altered his mind to ensure unwavering loyalty, though it came at the price of stifling all emotions.

"Grandmaster Brass, do you copy?" asked Eggman, strumming his mustache. The Grandmaster on the screen nodded slightly. "Good. Are you in the middle of any Empire business at the moment?"

"No, sir," replied Hugo, his voice devoid of any and all emotion. _This guy is remarkably boring,_ thought Snively.

Eggman smiled. "Well then, perhaps you'd be willing to assist me on a little mission to reclaim my base from my enemies?"

"Yes, sir," said Hugo.

"Alright then, summon the Egg Paladins and I'll lock onto your signal and teleport you to me," said Eggman. "Get it done."

"Yes, sir," said Hugo. Failing to suppress a groan at the Grandmaster's stoic blandness, Eggman terminated the connection and leaned back in his chair. Everyone in the room was quiet for several moments, until Lien-Da broke the silence.

"Sir, I think I know who they are," blurted Lien-Da.

Eggman turned to his left, frowning. "Oh? And why didn't you speak up before?"

"Well, I...er...you didn't really seem like you were in the mood to talk," muttered Lien-Da. "So...as you know, once upon a time our people were trapped in a pocket dimension called the Twilight Zone, and from the very beginning we shared the space with another militaristic group of echidnas called the Nocturnus Clan, who would attack us frequently with their Gizoid robots. We were always at odds with one another and competed for the scarce resources within the Zone's confines. The Dark Legion would sometimes manage to escape the Zone for short periods of time while the Nocturnus remained confined in their fortress, never following us. Finally, about a year ago the dimensional barrier broke at one point and we were able to escape, but we made sure they weren't able to follow us through. But now apparently they've found a way to escape, and that's concerning even to me."

Eggman was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly a lightbulb went off in his head. _She mentioned that the Nocturnus used Gizoids,_ thought Eggman, remembering the orange robot he had lost to the Freedom Fighters. _And that robot I found had the word 'Gizoid' in its data. Hmm...this is certainly starting to get interesting._

"These...'Nocturnus,' as you call them-would they happen to be related at all the "Fourth Great Civilization?" asked Eggman.

"They...are one and the same, I believe. How did you know?" asked a confused Lien-Da.

"Some time ago, I found an orange robot in Downunda when I went to visit the Grandmaster of the local D.E.L. chapter," explained Eggman. "I downloaded its data and learned it was called the 'Gizoid'. I then conducted a bit of research on the Egg Network and read about an ancient Soumercan faction called the Fourth Great Civilization, as my grandfather Professor Gerald called them, and how they inexplicably vanished from the face of Mobius," explained Eggman. "So this Nocturnus Clan must be the very same clan that created the robot I found. Intriguing, isn't it?"

Lien-Da nodded. "They did use robots called Gizoids, yes," she said, "and it's a trifle worrying to me that they were able to overtake the EggDome so quickly. We always had a lot of trouble with them back in our prison...and while I'd love to sit here and talk to you about Gizoids some more, I'm more concerned at the moment with how we are going to retake the EggDome. Are you sure these Egg Paladins of yours will be enough?"

Dr. Eggman smirked. "Absolutely. They are by far the strongest Legion chapter I have, and I have no doubts about their abilities."

"Sir, I've locked on to Hugo's locator beacon and am ready to teleport the Paladins in," said Snively. "Shall I do so?"

"Oh, get on with it already!" snapped Eggman. "It's time I took the EggDome back from these pesky rats!"


	20. Chapter 20: The Marauders

Chapter 20: The Marauders

**Outside New Mobotropolis, Freedom HQ, morning**

Within minutes the enthusiasm amongst the Freedom Fighters over Emerl and his power died down, and their minds returned to the kidnapping of Knuckles and the Chaotix. "You said the Nocturnus Clan live in the Twilight Cage, didn't you, Julie-Su?" questioned Sally, while Sonic paced impatiently nearby, while Tails and Amy talked with Emerl and Bunnie and Antoine rested on the downstairs sofa, wiped out from their latest battle against the Phis. "Maybe instead of searching Angel Island we should go right into the den of the enemy," suggested Sally.

"But it's virtually impossible to access the Zone!" replied Julie-Su hopelessly, throwing her hands in the air and slumping into a chair. "Look, the Dark Legion spent years trying to escape from there, and the only reason we were ever able to was because of stolen Nocturnus technology. But the Nocturnus never followed us back through for some reason."

"That doesn't make any sense...why wouldn't they leave if they had the power to?" asked Sally, taking a seat beside the echidna.

"No idea," said Julie-Su. "Obviously I wasn't privy to what went on in Nocturne...but that's beside the point here! As I was saying, there's no way to rescue Knuckles because it's almost impossible to _travel_ to the Twilight Cage, let alone break onto Nocturne and rescue Knuckles...unless you have some way to teleport yourself."

Sally put a hand on her chin and slowly turned her head, her gaze fixating on the Star Posts that were resting against one of the walls of the Freedom Fighters' main laboratory. She smiled. "Actually...I think I have a plan."

"Oh! I was thinking the same thing, Sally!" said Tails, a lightbulb going off in his own head as well. "I'll see if I can't get the Star Posts fired up and ready to go."

"I assume that'll take a while, _sooooo..._I think Emerl and I are gonna go out and have some fun," announced Sonic, getting up and stretching his legs. "Follow me, I want to teach you a few more moves!"

"Oh boy! Thanks, Sonic!" said Emerl with obvious excitement in his robotic voice, happily skipping behind Sonic. Not wasting a chance to be with Sonic, Amy followed the two outside and into the drizzling field outside Freedom HQ. Sally and Tails meanwhile turned their full attention to the Star Posts. The Star Posts were two lamp posts with star symbols painted on the spherical top knobs, and had been used in the past to transport Sonic and the Freedom Fighters to the Special Zone and Moebius on separate occasions.

"Nicole, you awake?" asked Sally, tapping on the giant computer monitor next to the Star Posts. The image of a brown-and-black female lynx A.I. wearing a purple tunic-like outfit appeared on the screen, smiling to see her best friend once again.

"Greetings, Sally," she said. "What is it?"

Sally took a few seconds to answer. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but something's happened on Angel Island..." she began as she narrated the past day's events, her information supplemented on occasion by Julie-Su and Tails.

"...and after we returned from the downed island, we decided we ought to take the fight to the Nocturnus Clan on their own home turf," said Sally. "Do you think it's possible for you to open a gateway to the Twilight Cage? It's a pocket dimension like the Special Zone, so theoretically it should be easier to access than Moebius..."

"Theoretically," emphasized Julie-Su. "The Zone is notoriously difficult to access and even harder to leave. That's why some in the Legion made a point of calling it the Twilight Cage as opposed to the Twilight Zone."

"...but nonetheless, we need to try," said Sally. "Can you try to open a portal?"

Nicole nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Tails, I'll need you to reroute this lab's power to the Star Posts, because this one might take some extra juice. In the meantime I'll be sifting through various transdimensional frequencies until I find the one corresponding to the Twilight Cage."

As the lights in the lab dimmed to accommodate for the immense amount of power required to open a transdimensional gateway, Sally and Julie-Su watched with anticipation as Nicole and Tails worked on the Star Posts. Once, twice, thrice they turned on the power, hoping for a result, but each time the posts simply flickered and sparked, with no portal materializing between them. With each mounting failure over the ensuing minutes that felt more like hours, Julie-Su became more and more convinced that she was right, and that the Twilight Cage was indeed impenetrable. _This just cannot be happening,_ she told herself desperately, tears welling up in her eyes. _This is a nightmare...Knuckles...where are you?_

"All right, I think I've got it," said Tails excitedly, at last dispelling the rapt silence. Every heart in the room was pounding as Tails shut the maintenance hatch and pressed the button to activate the portal...

"Nothing," cried Julie-Su. "Nothing." Sally put a comforting hand around her shoulder.

"I just don't understand it," said Nicole, scratching her head on the computer screen. "We've gone through all the necessary procedures, Tails. So why isn't the gateway opening?"

"Maybe the Cage's Zone boundary is stronger than most?" theorized Tails. "At any rate, the only thing we can do is keep trying, or perhaps search for an additional power source...?"

Nicole's face lit up, showing a rare display of emotion. "That's brilliant! All we probably need a Chaos Emerald!" she shouted with glee. "Sally, please go find Sonic and we can open up the Special Zone!"

"I will!" replied Sally. "Everything's going to be alright," she told Julie-Su, and ran through the doorway, through the limestone entry hall, and out the main door of Freedom HQ. Sonic and Amy were on their knees gasping in the rain while Emerl pranced in circles nearby, eager for more.

"Gee whiz, not even I can keep this kind of stuff up for long," gasped Sonic, wiping his forehead with his glove and looking up. "Oh, hey Sal. What's cookin'?"

"We weren't able to get through to the Twilight Cage, but there is some good news: Nicole thinks we can breach the dimensional barrier if we obtain a Chaos Emerald. They're opening a portal to the Special Zone now, so rest for a few minutes and let's go get that Emerald."

"Alright, alright," responded Sonic, rising but panting quickly. "I'm on my way."

Sonic and Sally were making their way through the door to Freedom HQ when they heard Amy gasp. "What?" said Sonic, turning, and his jaw dropped as he watched an unexpected scene unfold a distance away, visible even through the fog and gloom of the stormy morning.

From absolutely everywhere black shapes teleported into New Mobotropolis beneath the city's massive energy shield, taking the populace and royal military completely by surprise. Massive blue flashes of light were visible for kilometers around as massive batches of soldiers teleported simultaneously and descended upon the helpless fleeing citizens. Nicole, having detected the intruders immediately and transferred her consciousness to the city was completely taken aback, trying to ensnare the men with her nanites but they teleported away to a safe location whenever she made a move. And even she couldn't handle the troops appearing everywhere, from the Lake of Rings to the castle to downtown causing havoc and attacking the innocent citizens and taking them captive. The Nocturnus were even accompanied by their fair share of Gizoids, the robots taking down any and all guards with ease and blasting away nanite-made walls like they were made of paper.

The Freedom Fighters gawked at the flashing light for a few seconds, completely shocked. Sonic of course was the first to run off to investigate the scene, followed closely behind by Emerl and Amy. Sally waited behind for a few seconds before turning and running into Freedom HQ to rally Tails, Antoine and Bunnie.

"We've got a problem on our hands!" shouted Sally, dashing into the labratory, causing Tails to drop a wrench in surprise and for Julie-Su to jump to her feet and draw her proton blaster. "New Mobotropolis is under attack!"


	21. Chapter 21: Dawn of the Twilight

Chapter 21: Dawn of the Twilight

**Twilight Cage, near Nocturne**

It took Knuckles the Echidna a few seconds of stunned disbelief before he was able to comprehend what had just transpired. The last-ditch wave of force fired by Imperator Ix had blasted him off of the Nocturne, stunning him and causing everything to go black. But now that his battered body had healed itself and he came to, he quickly discovered to his horror that he was completely weightless, pinwheeling through space at a great speed with an infinite purple void stretching out above and below him. Before the destruction of Echidnaopolis Knuckles had briefly been pulled into the zone along with former Grandmaster Kragok, but he had been too busy fighting for his life to fully take in the sight; the massive fragments of jagged rock visible miles away, the smaller hunks of rock flying about like meteors, the strange black and blue ships hopping among the plantetoids, the misty purple nebulae and the twinkling stars. Just by looking ahead he could make out the silhouette of the Nocturne citadel off in the distance, but it was completely out of reach and was growing farther away by the second.

Knuckles' first inclination was to begin panicking loudly, but his calmer and more pragmatic side was quick to kick in, a product of his tough years of isolation as Guardian. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying his utmost hardest to ignore the slightly unpleasant butterfly-inducing sensation of weightlessness. He quashed the desire to panic and he immediately began recalling that he wasn't the only one who had fallen off the fortress. When Ix unleashed his final attack, someone else had been blasted into space...

"Sh-Shade...?" he mumbled softly, twisting his waist and craning his neck to see the Nocturnus Procurator floating alongside him a couple meters away. She was limp and prone, her eyes were closed, and her black armor was dented with bits of shrapnel embedded in the material. _Oh, no,_ please _still be alive...please..._ thought Knuckles. "Shade! _Shade_!" he shouted.

Shade's eyes fluttered open, startled. Unlike Knuckles, however, she didn't require any adjusting to the new sensation of weightlessness; having lived in for years she had experienced it multiple times. Rubbing her arm where a piece of rubble had struck, she turned herself in the air and looked at Knuckles with an almost blank, indecipherable expression.

"I...you...Ix..." she stuttered, then put her head in her hands. "I betrayed Lord Ix," she said, shaking her head.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow as he slowly drifted through space. "Yeah, that guy was absolutely _insane_ back there, so I can't really blame you. Think you're ready to ditch him for good and help me now?"

"He was my master..." replied Shade softly, half to herself. "But...I...was blind. I did not realize he wanted to take the world for himself. We've only spoken of returning to it, but we've never had enough power to transport everyone until now...and seeing Ix suddenly monologue about how he's going to conquer everything just completely caught me by surprise. I didn't expect him to react the way he did..." mumbled Shade.

"Shade, that guy is a lunatic and a power-freak," responded Knuckles calmly but with anxiety creeping into his voice. "But _look_, we don't really have time to worry about that right now. At the moment we're kind of flying through space without any sort of transportation, so you might've guessed I'm just a little bit concerned about our situation here..."

Shade nodded, and resolved herself to focusing on the present. "That's not a problem, Guardian. I've got one of our Warp Belts included in my suit, so if you grab my hand I should be able to teleport us out of here..."

"No. We're going back to Nocturne, and we're rescuing my friends and family first. Period."

"Going back to Nocturne would be suicide! If we return then Ix won't hesitate to kill us both!"

"I'm not worried about Ix," said Knuckles, fanning his arms and dreadlocks and propelling himself closer to Shade so that the two echidnas were a mere meter apart. "He had his chance to kill me, and he failed. I'm worried about my friends, and what Ix might do with the Master Emerald. Right now we have to get back to his fortress. Can you do that?"

Shade took a deep breath, then reached out her hand, which Knuckles promptly grabbed. "...Yes, I can. Hold on tight, Knuckles," replied Shade, tapping a button on her wrist. They were immediately engulfed in a flash of blue light which swallowed them both and faded away.

Meanwhile, back in the battle-ravaged throne room, the Imperator known as Imperator Ix hovered over what was left of his throne and the furnishings of the chamber. Several of Ix's Nocturnus lackeys were already in the process of fixing up the room, but the very sight of his throne, the symbol of his authority over his people, reduced to rubble was an infuriating thing for the power-mad ruler to bear witness to. "Blasted Guardian...insubordinate Procurator..." he muttered under his breath. Already he had swapped out his damaged armor suit to make himself more presentable, but the thought of Knuckles, a mere boy, defeating him in hand-to-hand combat made him seethe with silent rage. He had defeated the Brotherhood of Guardians and Moritori Rex when they had ended up in the Twilight Cage, so why couldn't he have defeated one lone Guardian?

"Lord Ix, I presume?" said a voice in the corner near the elevator entrance. Ix turned in midair to see Dr. Finitevus, cloak shrouding his entire body, standing in front of an opened warp ring with shimmering portal. A sinister smile etched its way onto the doctor's face when Ix growled and refuses to respond. "I bear tidings from your men on the battlefield back on Mobius, and they report that Dr. Robotnik's EggDome base has been secured and is ready to be converted into another staging area for your upcoming conquest. By the way, I see your throne room suffered quite a bit of damage," noted Finitevus. "Please don't tell me you tried to engage Knuckles in battle..."

"I did, and I won _handily_," spat Ix, but his halfhearted lie didn't deceive a single being in the room.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, where is the Guardian, perchance? I have need of him to further my plans."

"Floating in interstellar space with my former Procurator," stated Ix with folded arms. "And I don't feel like retrieving him at the moment."

Finitevus scowled. "I thought I told you to keep him subdued," he said with anger creeping into his voice. "What in blazes happened here?"

"I...tried to get him to join our cause," replied Ix. "I told him the Master Emerald wouldn't respond to us, that we were trapped here because we had no means to escape, and that all we wanted to was to breathe the air of Mobius again."

"I take it he wasn't deceived?"

"You could say that."

"At any rate, I hope you're ready to move activate the Master Emerald and move the fortress through a Chaos energy portal soon," said Finitevus. "But need I remind you that our plans cannot succeed without the Guardian? To restore Enerjak, I need a powerful avatar like Knuckles."

"I have no doubt he'll return for his Brotherhood friends, and when he does we'll capture him and you can do with him as you please," smiled Ix. "We'll wait just a little longer to exit the Cage, and when the Guardian returns we'll spring a little trap..."


	22. Chapter 22: Assault Mission

Chapter 22: Assault Mission

**EggDome, control room, morning**

It was a stormy morning. Sheets of rain pounded on the exterior of the EggDome as its new occupants began making the necessary preparations for their upcoming conquest. In a small, cramped control room in the upper decks, an blue and white-plated Gizoid with shining orange eyes stood in front of the dozens of security monitors with folded arms. Alongside the robot two stood two Nocturnus warriors also observing the screens.

"Interesting that the doctor didn't so much as put up a resistance," noted one of the Nocturnus. "And here I thought he was some sort of great genius."

"Dr. Robotnik will be back. He's just biding his time in that ship of his," said Prefect Charyb, the Gizoid, without a hint of emotion. Charyb was one of the two elite Gizoids of the Nocturnus Clan that usually resided in Nocturne; the other was Prefect Scylla, a similar red and orange-plated robot. Charyb was the more level-headed of the two; a devious mind with a penchant for traps and tricks, while his counterpart Scylla was a bit of an odd case. A defect in his personality programming caused him act somewhat psychotic, prone to fits of rage and cackling. It was this peculiar characteristic of his that alerted Charyb to his counterpart's entrance.

"Hee hee hee! I'm back from my stroll through the big egg, Charyb old buddy," said Prefect Scylla, entering the room. "Whatcha doing?"

"Be quiet," snapped Charyb. "I don't have time for your antics today. Did you check on the EggDome's systems as ordered?"

Scylla nodded. "Uh-huh, the men say everything's in working order. Even the toilets are fully functional! I tested them all just to be sure."

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear you weren't wasting any of our _very limited_ time. We need to have this place completely operational by the time Nocturne moves through the wormhole," said Charyb. "Imperator Ix was clear: we were to have the EggDome converted into a full base and staging area by the time he arrived. If we don't do this in a timely manner then Ix won't be very happy with us."

"Pssh, yeah, I'm _so_ terrified of his 'punishments'. Ix acts like janitorial duty is supposed to be menial labor or something, but I think it's kinda fun. I especially love 'forgetting' to put those wet floor signs in his throne room after I'm done mopping-"

"Scylla. _Shut up,_ or I'll ask Ix to remove your voice chip," Charyb, turning to the monitors. "Why don't you head downstairs and help our men fix up the heavy artillery-"

One of the Nocturnus turned. "What? What is it?"

Charyb pointed to one of the security images showing a live feed of the sky outside. The Egg Carrier had ceased its circular path and was now stationary above the ruined New Megaopolis. As the two Gizoid Prefects watched, a small fleet of silver saucers each carrying several hooded figures soared off the Carrier's landing deck and moved toward the EggDome.

The Nocturnus raised an eyebrow under his mask. "Those look like Dark Legion saucers...what are they doing in service to Robotnik?"

"The Legion was recently enslaved by him," said Charyb as his index finger moved toward the microphone. "Serves them right, the filthy little half-breed rodents."

"Whether I get janitorial duty after this or not, I'll still _wipe the floor_ with those Legionnaires!" shouted Scylla. "See what I did there? Hee hee hee!"

Charyb suppressed a groan as he picked up the intercom microphone. "Attention Nocturnus Clan: we're under attack by Dr. Robotnik and his Dark Egg Legion. All personnel, make your way to the main deck and prepare yourselves for batt-"

Scylla shoved Charyb out of the way and bent over the microphone. "By the way, ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! That is all. Bye, hee hee!"

Charyb looked up at his counterpart with an implied look of disgust. "Could you be any more obnoxious?" he asked.

"Sorry, man, I just always wanted to say that over an intercom. Ix never lets me near his, you see," replied Scylla, bending over to help Charyb up.

"_Anyway_...Scylla and I ought to go join the rest of our forces," said Charyb, turning to the two Nocturnus warriors. "Monitor the EggDome from here. If we're obviously losing, then give the order to retreat and activate the self-destruct sequence via the bombs we placed. I highly, _highly_ doubt that'll have to happen, though."

"Yes, sir," replied the two Nocturnus. Scylla and Charyb left the room through the open doorway.

Outside in the stormy weather, the group of Dark Egg Legion saucers descended silently to the base of the EggDome, where they landed and their occupants disembarked. Grandmaster Lien-Da rose from her saucer, stepped onto the jagged, uneven metal ground, and turned around to face her men. She scowled and flicked wet hair out of her eyes as she waited for the rest of her men to assemble in front of her. Among the Legion strike force sent by Eggman were the five black and green-armored Egg Paladins led by Grandmaster Hugo Brass, which composed the brunt of the human Eurish Dark Egg Legion. Hugo's men Dutch, Vincent, Honch, Rico, and Spike towered over the Mobian echidnas beneath them while the stoic Hugo stood beside Lien-Da, hands behind his back.

"Listen up, Legion: we only get one shot at this," said Lien-Da, shouting to her rain-soaked troops over the pitter-patter of the raindrops. "Grandmaster Brass and his Egg Paladins will create a passage into the EggDome, and from there we will provide reinforcements for them while they lead the charge taking out as many Nocturnus operatives as they can. Any questions? No? Good. Hugo, would you do the honors so we can get on with this blasted mission?"

"Yes," said Hugo, aiming his right arm at the wall. A small blaster extended from his cybernetic wrist, blasting a thick pink laser which in less than a second reduced a large section of the outer wall to smoking cinders. Hugo and the Egg Paladins climbed through the opening into the unfinished purple-lined hallways of the EggDome and looked around, scanning the area. A lone Nocturnus scout stood in the middle of the hallway carrying a box of parts, and he immediately dropped it and bolted upon seeing the Legion strike force.

"Enemy detected," said E.P. 001 Dutch, the leader of the Paladin team.

"What? Where?" asked Lien-Da as she and her Legion entered the building.

"He went that way," said Dutch, pointing in the direction the scout had fled.

"Hahaha, this is all too easy. Let him lead us to the rest of them," said Lien-Da with a smile, rubbing her hands together. "Let's follow his path upstairs to the main deck and secure the area before we scope out the rest of the facility. Hugo, lead the way."

Led by the human Grandmaster, the Legionnaires followed the fleeing scout, made their way up a flight of stairs, and emerged into the lobby of a wide, multi-level chamber with a branching metal catwalk up above. The Nocturnus scout stood cornered against the back wall and appeared to panic as the Paladins approached him with their laser gauntlets held out, but then teleported himself away in a flash of blue light. The echidna Legionnaires filed in, blasters at the ready, but were surprised to find the area deserted.

Lien-Da marched right into the middle of the room and threw her hands up in anger. "Why would that stupid Nocturnus have fled into an empty room...?" questioned Lien-Da, then it hit her. "Oh no, you've got to be kidding me..."

Dozens upon dozens of black-armored Nocturnus warriors teleported in, aiming their wide-barreled blasters at the Legion and Paladin strike force. Lien-Da sighed in resignation over the fact that she had been so easily deceived by her worst enemies, but didn't panic just yet. _After all, I do have some of the most elite D.E.L. soldiers at her disposal,_ she told herself before a voice interrupted her thoughts. "Welcome, Legion. We've been expecting you," said a voice from above. Lien-Da and the Legionnaires looked up, and saw the two Nocturnus Gizoids Scylla and Charyb standing on the catwalk above their heads.

"How sad, and here the Dark Legion thought it would be able to simply waltz in and take back their precious base," said Scylla mockingly. "Sorry, guys, but this is our crib now! So go find your own! Hee hee hee hee hee!"

"This base belongs to Dr. Robotnik," said Lien-Da. "Now either you give it up or we'll make you suffer."

"Yeah, no," said Charyb. "Kill them."

The Nocturnus warriors let loose with a barrage of laser fire, sending the Legion diving for cover. Screams of pain resounded throughout the chamber as Legionnaires fell, dropping their weapons and falling to their knees. Lien-Da grabbed one of her men's fallen blasters and took aim at the nearest Nocturnus warrior, taking him out with a high-powered shot to the stomach that penetrated his armor and knocked him to the ground, stunned, but once the Nocturnus was felled he was teleported away. She rolled aside to avoid a volley of laser fire from another Nocturnus trooper, and with a scream of anger defeated three more Nocturnus. Hugo Brass and the five Egg Paladins took offensive positions around the cornered Legion which had already lost around a third of its number to Nocturnus lasers, and with deadly accuracy and precision mowed down Nocturnus after Nocturnus with shots from their wrist gauntlets, after which the warriors vanished in identical flashes of light.

"Blast it," spat Charyb. "Looks like we may have to enter the fray after all." Below him, even as the Legion continued its futile battle with the Nocturnus warriors, the Egg Paladins spread out throughout the room taking out Nocturnus with acrobatic punches and kicks, blocking any oncoming lasers with their gauntlets. One of the Paladins fell to the ground after succumbing to sniper fire by opportunistic Nocturnus, but the former G.U.N. soldiers were simply too powerful for the smaller Nocturnus soldiers to defeat. Grandmaster Lien-Da herself relished the opportunity to take down as many of her hated enemies as possible, grabbing fallen weapons and using them to take down Nocturnus from afar while she herself effortlessly dodged their own attacks.

Seeing their men falling by the second to the advanced Legion troopers, Scylla and Charyb drew their own energy blades and jumped off the upper balcony. Scylla landed in front of Hugo Brass and hit him in the chest with an energy blast from his blade, taunting the fallen Grandmaster with taunts and insults as he took aim and blasted down several Legionnaires surrounding him. Meanwhile Charyb leaped on top of an Egg Paladin, hit him in the back of the head with an energy blast, and leaped off as the man tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Lien-Da, fresh from having taken down several more Nocturnus herself, turned to face the Gizoid.

"Ooh, you're tough. Want to take me on? I'm sure it'll end quite _well_ for you," she said mockingly, daring Charyb to attack.

"You, like your sleeping Legionnaire buddies over there, are hardly worth the effort, but I'll gladly take you on just to prove a point: never mess with the Nocturnus Clan." With that, Charyb jumped halfway across the room to land in front of Lien-Da, knocked her weapons out of her hands, and grabbed her by the throat, hoisting her into the air by her neck. He pointed his glowing energy blade at her face.

"So, still think I'm a pushover? Still think I'm weak? Well, I got news for you, lady: you're the one who-AAAAAZKDKJFJAK!" The blue-plated Gizoid sparked, relinquished his grip on Lien-Da's neck, and fell, while the gasping Grandmaster landed beside him, her eyes glowing with electricity.

_I ought to thank Eggman for those electric powers,_ she thought as she looked down upon her enemy as he, like the rest of the Nocturnus, teleported away. _It sure was kind of him to rebuild me with them after I was injured during the Iron Dominion's fall._ Lien-Da looked around, and noticed to her joy there were only a few active combatants left: the room was littered with the quivering bodies of Legionnaires, while the only remaining Nocturnus soldiers along with Scylla were engaged in a battle with the remaining three Egg Paladins.

"Why won't you people just _die_ already?" spat Scylla, who for once in his life wasn't in the laughing mood. "You're no fun like these squishy little Legionnaires!" he added while avoiding an energy blast from one of the Paladins' wrist gauntlets. Scylla retaliated with an energy blast that finished off one of the remaining Paladins, while the other two responded with bursts of their own which Scylla was unable to defend against. The red Gizoid was blasted backwards into the rear wall, where he slid to the ground, sparking.

"N-No...you cannot d-defeat M-ME-!" began Scylla before he was silenced with an electric blast from Lien-Da's palm and teleported away via his own built-in transporter. The Grandmaster, the Paladins, and the last couple of Legionnaires turned to face the few remaining Nocturnus soldiers, who backed away at gunpoint from their enemies.

"Looks like you've won today," said one of the Nocturnus warriors. "But in the meantime, have fun escaping from this base as it self-destructs."

Lien-Da's eyes widened as the Nocturnus teleported away. "Wait...what did he just say?" she asked the nearly-empty room, and then fell to the ground as she felt a massive explosion and the EggDome began shaking itself apart.


End file.
